1 week Ago
There aren’t a ton of Fridays during the course of the season where coaches award a day off, but that was the case this week as the Sir Bills won back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday, for their 10th and 11th wins in a row. “Definitely,” Johnstown head coach Phil Satterlee said of his team earning the day off. “Two games back-to-back, it’s not easy.
” The Sir Bills began the 2024-25 season on a four-game losing streak, falling to Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Voorheesville, Schoharie and Greenville. However, things have drastically turned around for Johnstown, and into an 11-game winning streak. “They’re just getting comfortable.
We’re a pretty young group,” Satterlee said. “We only have four seniors, and only two are returners, so we have a lot of guys stepping up into bigger roles and guys realizing the varsity speed. The guys have really gelled together and realized that if we do it as a team, we can be successful.
” Johnstown’s current stretch began on Dec. 18 with a 62-51 victory over Canajoharie, and last Wednesday the Sir Bills had their biggest test. “We started off with a couple losses to Class B schools, and I tell the guys every year it’s about how good of basketball you’re playing at the end of the season,” Satterlee said.
“We have to work towards playing our best in sectionals, and right now Cobleskill is one of the best teams in Class B. It was a good test for us.” Cobleskill-Richmondville entered Wednesday’s Western Athletic Conference game against Johnstown with a nine-game winning streak of its own.
“We’ve had that game circled for weeks,” Johnstown’s Danny Brown said of Cobleskill-Richmondville. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy, and it ended up where both of us were playing for our 10th win in a row.” “The whole week at practice we were going hard to prepare, knowing how important a game it was,” added Johnstown’s Dylan Hulbert.
The Sir Bills prevailed in a highly intense and physical game, as Hulbert hit his free throws at the end, allowing Johnstown to secure a 51-49 victory. “Practice prepares us for situations like that really well,” said Hulbert, who scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter against the Bulldogs. Brown added 15 points, helping Johnstown secure its 10th straight win, while Travis Tallon and Braeden Fennessey both scored 10.
“It’s so important to be able to close out those one-two possession games, and that’s really what that game was the entire time,” Satterlee said. “I think the most anyone got up in that game was two or three possessions. We were down six at halftime.
It stayed right around a two possession game the whole time. We’ve had a stretch where we were able to win games by 10 or 15 points, so having the experience of winning a tough game like that is huge.” “We really battled through adversity,” Brown said.
“It was a tough, physical game, and it’s great to get a win in a game like that.” Johnstown was right back at it on Thursday afternoon, going up against Coxsackie-Athens in a non-league battle. Despite a slow start on offense, the Sir Bills eventually got going to pick up a 51-32 victory, for their 11th straight.
“We were able to come out on top [against Cobleskill], and then coming back tonight, it isn’t easy having the back-to-back,” Brown said. “But we're finding our identity on the team we want to be.” “We came out flat in the first, and we knew we had to turn it up a notch,” Hulbert added.
“We really just started looking for the best shots, making that one extra pass and not forcing anything.” After a 10-10 deadlock in the first quarter, Johnstown’s defense was able to limit the Riverhawks to just three points in the second quarter and seven in the third. Brown led the way in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of his game-high 18 points in the period.
He hit a pair of 3-pointers down the final stretch against Coxsackie-Athens. Hulbert added 12 points in the win, while Marley Bramer knocked down a trio of 3-pointers, for nine points. “We progressively got better as the season’s gone on, and it’s really been one game at a time,” Satterlee said.
“We wouldn’t be on an 11 game winning streak if we didn’t have that approach.” Johnstown is next scheduled to face Fonda-Fultonville on Wednesday on the road at 7 p.m.
The Valley Hawks, who are riding a six-game winning streak, will present another big test for the Sir Bills. “To get two big Class B wins in a row, it’s not easy, and we have another one coming up,” Brown said. “Cobleskill and Coxsackie are both Class B with us, and we have Fonda next.
Another Class B win would be huge for sectionals.” “We don’t stop here, though,” Brown added. “At the end of the day, it’s just a win, and we have to keep rolling.
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