Leading off today: Buffalo Nichols got off to a strong start at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C., last night by beating previously undefeated Central (S.C.) Daniel 79-66.

   Daniel built a 23-15 lead with 5:18 left in the first half, but Nichols took a 35-32 lead on consecutive baskets by Stan Weir with under a minute to go.

   A Will Regan 3-pointer extended the lead to 43-34 with 13:09 left in the second half before Daniel rattled off 11 straight points to re-take the lead. But a Ron Canestro 3-pointer capped an 11-2 Nichols run for a 65-55 lead, and the Vikings went 7-for-9 from the line down the stretch.

   Regan finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots for Nichols, ranked second in Class A by the New York State Sportswriters Association. Weir added 22 points.

   Nichols has two days off in the 16-school tournament, then plays Tuesday against the winner of Monday's game between Bishop Gorman from Nevada, and Arlington (Va.) Bishop O'Connell, which is ranked 10th in the South Region by USA Today.

   Back for more: Dave Gillett found his second wind, and the Perry boys basketball team is breezing right along.

   Fresh off of coaching Perry to a Section 5 three-peat from 2000 to '02 (giving the Yellowjackets four titles in five years), Gillett retired with a career record of 377-175 and 12 Livingston County division championships. He was inducted into the Section 5 Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

   Gillett rejoined the Yellowjackets this season, taking over for Rod Allen. He has Perry off to a 4-0 start heading into the 28th annual Batavia Lions Club Tournament, which begins Monday with the Yellowjackets taking on Batavia Notre Dame, ranked third in Class D by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

   "I hadn't lost my love of the game, but I didn't realize how much I missed it," Gillett told The Daily News. "The game plan is (to do) the same things that made our program solid -- man-to-man defense and team depth."

   Said senior captain Deric Cicero: "He has us practicing as a team and practicing hard. We don't just to drills -- we play. Everything we do has a purpose. We're not just running for the sake of running."

   Cicero is second on the team in scoring at about 15 points a game. Jimmy Estruch, who transferred after helping Houghton to the Class DD sectional semifinals last season, is averaging 17 points a game.

   A vow to return: There was a mini-controversy earlier this year when it was reported that Hornell boys basketball coach Rob Stedman was out after two seasons because he did not complete his coaching certification.

   Well, The Livingston County News got to the bottom of the matter and reported Stedman actually had his coaching credentials in order but had not completed his teaching certification in time to return this fall. His life was further complicated by the birth of his first child.

   As is the case in most districts, teachers in good standing have first dibs on coaching positions, so Stedman

was frozen out once Kirk Scholes applied. Stedman said is OK with that and vows to get back into coaching as soon as possible.

   "I am now trying to work as hard as possible to rectify some of the issues that arose with my teaching certification so that I may get back to doing what I love — both coaching and teaching,” Stedman told the paper. "The kids and community have been great and still keep in frequent contact. They've even gone so far as to get my son a few gifts along the way (his first pair of Nike's). I will absolutely be back on the sidelines very soon somewhere in Section 5, and hopefully it's within the LCAA."

   Lend a hand: NYSSWA wrestling editor Glen Irving is updating his list of leaders for career coaching victories. We ran a partial list in the newsletter last week, but many of the men who've reached 300 victories are now retired.

   So Glen is asking coaches, ADs and sectional chairmen for help in identifying all coaches with 100 varsity wins. Besides their win total entering the season, he is requesting that you supply the schools where he has coached, the year he started, total varsity seasons and the coach's college.

   You can send the details directly to Glen via an e-mail.

   Virtual reality: This could be fun. Stupid, yes. But also fun.

   USA Today and HighSchoolSports.net are going to conduct a virtual national high school football championship Jan. 4-9, starting with a 64-school field and trimming down to a winner based on computer simulations programmed by mathematician Ken Massey of Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn.

   The process began with HighSchoolSports.net choosing one champion from each of the 50 states. USA Today then selected 14 at-large teams and seeded the teams into four 16-team regions.

   New Jersey's Don Bosco Prep is the pre-tournament favorite, with odds of 3.12:1. Its first-round opponent is Essex (Vt.) High, which has the longest odds at 1,422,590,274,633.08:1.

   There are three New York teams in the field: East No. 5 seed Freeport (10-2) "plays" No. 12 Nashua (N.H.) Bishop Guertin (12-0), No. 6 North Tonawanda (13-0) faces No. 11 West Haven (Conn.) Notre Dame (11-1) and No. 14 Sweet Home (13-0) meets No. 3 Ijamsville (Md.) Linganore (14-0).

   Extra points: Event organizer Dick Gallagher pulled out all the stops at last weekend's Western New York high school football awards banquet, including the announcement that Deshanaro "Day-Day” Morris was being named player of the decade. The Buffalo News reports that the news brought down the house. . . . Curtis defensive end Dominique Easley, who recently hedged a bit on his earlier commitment to Penn State, will disclose his college choice -- PSU or Oregon -- at the Under Armour All-American game on Jan. 4, Scout.com reported last week. . . . Here's an opponent you don't want to waste possessions against: The Corinth boys are 5-1 in basketball and scoring just 47.8 points a game -- but allowing an amazing 26.2 ppg while holding four foes to 23 or fewer points so far. . . . Reigning 215-pound state Division II wrestling champion Kyle Colling of Pioneer has signed with Oklahoma. Angelo Malvestuto of top-ranked Niagara-Wheatfield, third at the last two state meets, signed with Virginia Tech.