Before, during and after the Canisius basketball team’s 53-48 victory over St. Joe’s Sunday afternoon, I looked around the grand auditorium where the Crusaders’ games are played and tried to take everything in.

Because I’m going to miss it.

With the school constructing a new on-campus field house which is due to open next school year, this is the final season of Canisius basketball on its unique court. I’ll admit it — when I first walked into Canisius for a basketball game, and saw the auditorium seating and huge floor-to-ceiling columns — I thought I was in the wrong place.

But Canisius home basketball games, particularly those against St. Joe’s, offer a reporter quite possibly the best seat in Western New York high school sports.

At any other venue, in any other sport, as a reporter you either have fans behind, beside or below you — sometimes all three. At Canisius, everything is right in front of you, as if you’re in the middle of one of those IMAX wraparound movies.

For Canisius-Joe’s games, you couldn’t ask for much more — a reporter’s perch on the auditorium stage gives a great view of what was almost always a great game, complete with good angles on the scoreboard and the coaches making their moves. You literally sit in the same spot that participants in school plays and performances do their stage-work, looking out at an auditorium full of people. The widening building provides a perfect notch on each side of the room for each team’s fans, who stand together in their respective mosh pits just steps from the court — a perfect spot to chant for their team, against the opponent (and especially against the opposing fans).

And all of it happens below a balcony, amidst columns, chandeliers, artwork on the ceiling and wording etched in the stonework high above.

Circle the calendar now: the final game on the court is Feb. 20 when Canisius hosts Nichols, a great matchup for the great venue’s curtain call.

Fans and former players have already begun to share their memories of the court and the best games that have been played on it at the Prep Talk blog. Feel free to add yours at buffalonews. com/blogs or e-mail your tale to

kmcshea@buffnews.com

. Send us your Aud memories

Speaking of great venues, the “Aud” in downtown Buffalo wasn’t just a special place for fans of the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Braves.

The Memorial Auditorium was also the site of the Section VI and Manhattan Cup basketball championships between 1948 and 1986. If you have any memories or any photos you’d like to share for an upcoming story, e-mail to Mary Jo Monnin at

mmonnin@buffnews.com

before Feb. 10. Nichols hockey hits 100

There is going to be a lot of hockey talk at Nichols this weekend — 100 years’ worth.

The school’s hockey program is in its centennial year, and the “100 Years of Nichols Hockey Celebration” will host hundreds of former coaches and players on campus Friday and Saturday.

“Our love of hockey is as much about the game itself as the friendships we’ve made . . . it’s about the people,” said event chair and 1987 alum Tim Vanini, who played at Cornell.

According to the school, 32 girls and 208 boys have advanced to play Division I or II college hockey.

On Friday, the girls hockey team plays Appleby at 5:30 p. m. with the boys varsity prep team facing Upper Canada College at 7 at Dann Memorial Rink. A free family skate is 5-8:30 p. m. on the facility’s small rink while over in the gym the Nichols basketball teams are in action (girls vs. Mount St. Mary at 6 p. m., the boys vs. Niagara Catholic at 7:30).

Saturday’s “Hockey Day” features youth games starting at 6:45 a. m., an alumni game at 10:30 and Viking games against Ridley by the Federation boys (11:30 a. m.), prep boys (1:30 p. m.) and girls (3:45).

Don’t miss weekly live chat

Basketball fans young and old will want to check out our weekly live chat on Wednesday night at the winter sports season-friendly time of 10 p. m.

Not only should there be plenty of postgame discussion about that evening’s major Monsignor Martin matchup of Canisius at Nichols, there will be a big announcement regarding an exciting project we’re working on at The News.

Go to the Prep Talk blog at buffalonews. com/blogs.