# Western New York Thundersnow

The Western New York Thundersnow were a basketball team based in Niagara Falls, New York. The team was a member of the Premier Basketball League for the 2015–16 season, and the American Basketball Association for the 2016–17 season.

## History
### 2015–16: Franchise acquisition and inaugural season

Donald Felice acquired a Premier Basketball League (PBL) franchise for Niagara County, New York in July 2015. It was the third PBL franchise in the region's history, following the Buffalo Stampede and Buffalo 716ers.
Felice had worked two seasons in the PBL as general manager for Tawan Slaughter's Buffalo 716ers before leaving to form his own team.
The inaugural Thundersnow game at Niagara-Wheatfield High School saw them lose to Tawan Slaughter's other PBL team, the Chautauqua Hurricane, by a score of 118–119.
Following a second home loss to the Buffalo 716ers that left the team at 0–2, Donald Felice fired head coach Steve Mackey. Felice then promoted general manager Terrell Holland to head coach, but he was also fired after several games.
Despite having no prior experience in coaching, Donald Felice took over head coaching duties himself for the remainder of the season.
The team finished with a 1–14 record and failed to make the playoffs.

### 2016–17: Move to ABA and final season

It was announced in July 2016 that the team had left the Premier Basketball League and would join the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the 2016–17 season. It was the third ABA franchise in the region's history, following the Buffalo Sharks and Buffalo Blue Hawks.
Jody Crymes was hired as the team's new head coach, and the team moved to its home games to Niagara Catholic High School.
The team finished with a 7–9 record and failed to make the playoffs.
Jermaine Sharpe was named to the 2017 ABA All-Star Team after leading the team in rebounding. Jonny Marsh led the team in both scoring and assists.
Tryouts for a third season were advertised in September 2017, but the team folded soon after.

## Season-by-season record

| League champions | Conference champions | Division champions | Playoff berth |
| Season | Conference | Finish | Division | Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | GB | Playoffs | Awards | Head coach | Ref. |
| 2015-16 | — | — | Northeast | 7th | 1 | 14 | .067 | — | Did not qualify. | | Steve Mackey Terrell Holland Donald Felice | |
| 2016-17 | — | — | Northeast | 6th | 7 | 9 | .438 | — | Did not qualify. | Jermaine Sharpe (All-Star) | Jody Crymes | |

## Game log
### 2015–2016
#### Regular season

2015–16 game log Total: 1–14 (Home: 5–3; Road: 2–7) :
January: 1–5 (home: 1–2; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
January 9
Chautauqua
L 118–119
Boris Calhoun Jr. (27)
Niagara-Wheatfield High School
0–1
2
January 10
Buffalo
L 90–106
Maurice Greene (16)
Niagara-Wheatfield High School
0–2
3
January 15
@ Jamestown
L 99–120
Jamestown Community College
0–3
4
January 16
@ Buffalo
L 83–109
Burt Flickinger Center
0–4
5
January 23
Jamestown
W 136–134
Boris Calhoun Jr. (33)
Niagara Catholic High School
1–4
6
January 31
@ Providence
L 107–123
Johnson & Wales University
1–5 :
February: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
7
February 13
Rochester
L 89–131
Niagara Catholic High School
1–6
8
February 20
@ Jamestown
L 101–113
Jamestown Community College
1–7
9
February 25
@ Rochester
L 93–128
Blue Cross Arena
1–8 :
March: 0–5 (home: 0–2; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
10
March 5
New England
L
Kiernan Recreation Center
1–9
11
March 6
@ Chautauqua
L 106–120
Dunkirk High School
1–10
12
March 12
@ Buffalo
L 96–106
Burt Flickinger Center
1–11
13
March 19
Jamestown
L
Kiernan Recreation Center
1–12
14
March 20
@ Jamestown
L 94–129
Jamestown Community College
1–13 :
April: 0–1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
15
April 10
@ Rochester
L 78–128
Blue Cross Arena
1–14 :

### 2016–2017
#### Regular season

2016–17 game log Total: 7–9 (Home: 3–6; Road: 4–3) :
November: 1–0 (home: 0–0; road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
November 27
@ Elmira
W 115–112
Family Fitness Center
1–0 :
December: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
2
December 3
@ Buffalo
W 110–101
Bishop Timon – St. Jude High School
2–0
3
December 4
Elmira
W 129–126
Niagara Catholic High School
3–0
4
December 11
Buffalo
W 126–107
Niagara Catholic High School
4–0 :
January: 1–5 (home: 1–3; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
5
January 7
@ Atlantic Coast
L 119–128
GymRatz Performance
4–1
6
January 8
Rochester
W 116–114
Niagara Catholic High School
5–1
7
January 15
Cleveland
L 109–113
Niagara Catholic High School
5–2
8
January 22
Elmira
L 105–107
Niagara Catholic High School
5–3
9
January 28
@ Rochester
L 129–135
Isaiah Jefferson (37)
Thomas P. Ryan, Jr. Community Center
5–4
10
January 29
Steel City
L 107–135
Jonny Marsh (32)
Jermaine Sharpe (10)
Niagara Catholic High School
5–5 :
February: 1–4 (home: 0–3; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
11
February 2
@ Elmira
W 141–131 (OT)
Anthony Greene (37)
Anthony Greene (12)
Anthony Greene (10)
Family Fitness Center
6–5
12
February 4
@ Jersey
L 117–144
YMCA of Wayne
6–6
13
February 18
Rochester
L 112–113
Niagara Catholic High School
6–7
14
February 19
Atlantic Coast
L 113–120
Jermaine Sharpe (26)
Chuck Brundidge (19)
Niagara Catholic High School
6–8
15
February 25
Elmira
L 97–143
Niagara Catholic High School
6–9 :
March: 1–0 (home: 0–0; road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
16
March 4
@ Rochester
W
Thomas P. Ryan, Jr. Community Center
7–9 :