For years, five classes have played their regionals at the same location, usually Buffalo State University.

Now, with six classes, the schedule is even more overloaded with regionals split over two days. Boys and girls rotate each year between the Buffalo area and the Rochester area.

The Class AAA and Class B boys will play Friday at Gates-Chili High School and Saturday will feature the other four classes at Rush-Henrietta High School.

For the girls, Class AAA and Class AA will be Friday night at Buffalo State’s Sports Arena, while the other four classes will be featured Saturday at the same location.

Photo courtesy of Steve Garvey Carson Swanson and the Westfield Wolverines packed Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex for their sectional playoff games last week.

Section VI could very easily move the Class C and D regionals to the Physical Education Complex every year to experience some of the atmosphere local basketball fans saw over six days this past week off Curtis Street.

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Westfield senior Carson Swanson put on the greatest individual show over two nights last week at JCC.

On Tuesday, in what would become the game of the week on either the boys or girls side, Swanson scored 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out seven assists, picked up four steals and even blocked three shots as the fourth-seeded Wolverines beat No. 1 Randolph 64-58 in double overtime in their Class C semifinal.

Swanson, Section VI’s all-time leading scorer, needs 51 points across the final games of his career to reach Bishop Timon’s Jaiden Harrison, who set the record last winter.

Photo courtesy of Steve Garvey Danielle West and the Pine Valley Panthers played Panama in front of a large crowd during the Section VI Class D semifinals at JCC. The Class D Far West Regional matchup will have Section VI champion Sherman travel to Buffalo State University for a game against the Section V winners.

While Swanson was the obvious story last week, Westfield big men Zach Maguire and Grant Beadle caused problems for the Cardinals — especially after Randolph’s biggest player, Carter Conley, fouled out late in the game. Maguire and Beadle combined for 22 points and 27 rebounds in the game.

Another less-obvious storyline for Westfield was the play of senior Mason Whitesell, who did about as good a job as any defender this season of limiting Cardinals senior Drew Hind. A 2,000-point career scorer, Hind still finished with 24 points, but didn’t score in either overtime period.

Brady Wiskup and Jude Gerbec shined for No. 2 Holland in the other semifinal, a 65-41 victory over No. Franklinville.

Wiskup, a senior who also quarterbacked East Aurora/Holland’s football team this fall, finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Gerbec, a formidable freshman, had 20 points and five rebounds.

It was easy to see why Holland entered the game with a 14-7 record playing in Erie County Interscholastic Conference Division 5 and earned the No. 2 seed.

The Panthers, who had rolled to a 17-4 record to that point, struggled from the 3-point arc Tuesday, hitting just 3 of 21 from deep.

In the final, Westfield did to Holland what the Dutchmen did so well all season, beat them in transition.

Missed shots and turnovers became Holland’s undoing as Swanson pressed the issue over and over again.

The Wolverines scored 15 points off 14 Dutchmen turnovers en route to the eighth sectional title in program history.

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The Class D boys bracket was a coronation of the Panama Panthers, who brought so much talent to the basketball court from a state-champion Clymer/Sherman/Panama football team.

Senior Carter Brink has consistently been the best player for the Panthers all season long, but his supporting cast was equally impressive at JCC.

Bryce Hinsdale had 29 points over the two games, Jordan Mescall had 26 points and Alex Barmore added 22 points. That was plenty for Panama to lock up the 12th title in program history.

Despite losing by 27, Clymer’s Kameron Einink ended his high school career on a high note with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the fourth-seeded Pirates’ semifinal loss.

In a 52-35 semifinal win over No. 3 Pine Valley, No. 2 Forestville showed that it could be the team to beat in Class D next season.

The Hornets featured zero seniors on their roster this season on their way to a 15-7 record. Sophomore Jacob Anders averaged 17.5 points per game and fellow sophomore William Duliba averaged 12.6, while junior point guard Manny Sanchez led the team with 92 assists.

Pine Valley senior Trent Ivett ended his career with a team-high 14 points, while 6-foot-5 sophomore James Greene showed promise for the future with nine rebounds and five blocked shots for the Panthers.

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On the girls side, defending state semifinalist No. 3 Frewsburg defended its Section VI title with an epic 50-47 victory over No. 2 Randolph in their Wednesday semifinal.

In a battle of star sophomores, the Bears’ Jadyn Trocki picked up the win for her team over the Cardinals’ Skylar Herington.

Trocki had 11 points, but did her best work playmaking for her teammates with eight assists to go along with a strong defensive presence, picking up three steals.

Senior Ava Jimerson didn’t allow Wednesday to be her final high school game, as she battled inside for 16 rebounds to go along with a team-high 12 points.

Herington led her team with 24 points, but Randolph’s comeback attempt came up short in the end.

Maple Grove junior Bryanna Cornell shined in the other semifinal with 12 points, 17 rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots for the fifth-seeded Red Dragons in their 45-34 win over No. 8 Franklinville.

In the final, Frewsburg’s talent, depth and experience was simply too much for Maple Grove, which featured just one senior playing meaningful minutes. The Bears’ title was the sixth in program history.

If the Class C sectional tournament proved anything, it’s that New York should adopt a smiliar format to Pennsylvania when it comes to state basketball tournaments.

In Pennsylvania, more than one team can advance out of each district, giving teams more than one chance come playoff time.

As Cassadaga Valley head coach Al Roller mentioned multiple times throughout the season, Section VI probably featured three of the best Class C teams in the state. Roller’s sixth-seeded Cougars were forced to play Frewsburg in the quarterfinals and didn’t even get an opportunity to be featured at the Physical Education Complex.

Cassadaga Valley seniors Emiley Anderson and Aliyah Hopkins deserved better as two of the more talented players in the section.

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The Class D girls final turned into the best comeback win of the week at JCC.

No. 3 Panama led by as many as 11 points midway through the fourth quarter before No. 1 Sherman ended the game on a 16-1 run to beat the defending-champion Panthers.

The beauty of Sherman is that any of at least six girls can be the Wildcats’ best player in any given game.

On Saturday, that honor went to freshman Emmersen Crawford, who scored 17 of her team’s 45 points.

It was sweet revenge for Sherman, which lost 53-49 in overtime of last year’s sectional final. The Wildcats’ title was the 13th in program history.

The Panthers, who had won back-to-back titles prior to Saturday, put together another great season. Last year, Panama started 0-10 before reaching the Far West Regional. This year, they again struggled early on before playing their way into the final.

With Kiera Loberg, Brooke Warner, Jessica Lyon and McKenna Kolstee all returning next year, the Panthers should be in prime position to challenge Sherman again.

For No. 2 Pine Valley, which lost to Panama in the semifinal, Thursday’s defeat marked the end of the road for five Panthers seniors, including Danielle West, who should be remembered with some of Pine Valley’s greats after surpassing 1,000 career points in early February.