Poll: YAIAA boys' Athlete of the Week | Jan. 26-Jan. 31

There are first times for everything, and the past week (or so) of YAIAA boys’ basketball wintessed that fact first hand.

Particularly for two powerhouse teams who suffered firsts in the loss column, only to bounce back to collect wins days later.

Last week it was the Northeastern boys’ basketball team, which got knocked off by West York, 63-58. It was a big win for the Bulldogs on their home floor, as the team avenged an early-season defeat to the Bobcats.

West York continued its winning ways on Friday, beating Eastern York 62-49 to continue the Bulldogs' strong play of late.

As for Northeastern, the Bobcats recovered Friday with a 55-36 win over Dover that clinched at least a share of the Division II championship.

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Something that was reported on the blog last week but will be revisited for the moment was William Penn suffering its first divisional loss of the season on Jan. 23 at Central York.

But the Bearcats rebounded, beating Plymouth-Whitemarsh 72-57, then topping Red Lion in double overtime and rounding things out with a 74-72 overtime win over Capitol Christian Academy. William Penn is now 17-4 overall and sit in first place in the Division I standings with a 10-1 mark.

Speaking of standings, it's worth taking a look at where teams rank as the regular season hits its homestretch. In Division I, holding a 9-2 record, Central York is positioned right behind the Bearcats.

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Northeastern (10-1) is still a couple games up on the closest teams in the Division II race (while West York holds a 10-3 mark in division, Eastern York is now 8-4).

And in Division III, Hanover has clinched a first-place title with an 11-0 mark in divisional play.

Down the stretch they come this season. With that, vote in our Athlete of the Week poll, which appears every Sunday on the Varsity Beat Blog: