BERNE — With an emphatic yell, Mike Hopper announced his and his team’s presence.

The newcomer to the Berne-Knox-Westerlo boys’ basketball team made an inside basket and was fouled and knocked to the floor. He let go an exuberant yell and got up to his feet and knocked down the free throw.

It was a moment of triumph for Hopper who has been through much just to step on the court this season. The end result was a triumph for BKW as the Bulldogs beat WAC South Division power Canajoharie, 65-49, showing that they are going to be a team to reckon with for the rest of the season.
"This is a great win for the program," said BKW Coach Andy Wright. "This is my fourth season and I’ve never beaten them at the varsity level. They are the dominant team in our league. They’ve been in the top two and have been champions or co-champs four of the last five years."

The BKW win raised the ire of the Canajoharie fans at Friday’s game. At the end of the hard-fought, physical game some fans got in the face of Hopper and the other BKW players.

Order was restored without incident and the Bulldogs left for the locker room to celebrate a huge win.
"With a big turnout like that," Wright said, "the kids get up to play. To win in our house, you have to bring a good game with you."

Hopper up

It was Hopper’s third game in a BKW uniform and it wasn’t the first time he heard the other team’s complaints about his being on the court. And it won’t be the last.

Hopper was a senior at Voorheesville last year. He was a contributor to the team, not a star, but he did not graduate.

He moved into the BKW district to live with a legal guardian, and has been at BKW for the entire school year. But his eligibility was in question and the BKW school district went through the proper channels to get him to play.

Hopper only played one season on varsity at Voorheesville, but had to be cleared by the Section II committee. When he wasn’t cleared by Section II, BKW tried to clear him with the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. After the NYSPHSAA cleared him, Hopper had to sit out four games, due to the state transfer rules.

But now he is eligible to play and he made a difference on Friday night. He scored 24 points to lead the Bulldogs. He also had nine rebounds, two blocks, and he put an exclamation point on the win with a two-handed dunk with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

"Turning point"

BKW trailed 27-24 at halftime, but came out with a lot of fire in the second half.

David Sikule tied the game with a three-point basket and Hopper scored inside and was fouled. He converted the shot to keep the score tied.

Canajoharie went up by three points, but BKW responded as Matt Lounsbury buried a jump shot and Sikule made a foul shot to tie the game.

Canajoharie got a jump shot to re-take the lead but Lousnbury made another jump shot to tie the game again. Lenny Coons gave the Bulldogs the lead with an inside basket and free throw after being fouled.

Hopper added a 15-foot jump shot and the Bulldogs were taking control. Josh Skinner’s inside basket gave the Bulldogs a 42-34 lead.

Lounsbury’s jump shot with three seconds left in the third quarter gave BKW a seven-point lead, 44-37, going into the fourth and final stanza.

BKW pulled away in the fourth quarter, scoring 21 points in the final stanza and holding the Cougars to 12.

Lounsbury and Sikule each scored 14 points for the Bulldogs. Rich Geist had just five points, but grabbed some big rebounds and played tough defense.

Keith Shults scored 16 points to lead Canajoharie. Dan Herting scored 12 and Clinton Biltucci added eight.
"I think this is a turning point in the season," Wright said on Friday. "It gives us the confidence to play any team in the league. And we’ll have to come and play, when we go to Duanesburg and Schoharie. Those teams don’t lay down, especially at their place. They just don’t let anybody win."

The Bulldogs lost to Duanesburg on Tuesday night, 50-49.

Wright saw his team play a relatively clean game, with few turnovers.
"The kids kept it cool," Wright said. "They didn’t make a lot of mistakes and we didn’t have a lot of turnovers at any one time."

But the Bulldogs size was the difference in the Friday’s game, Wright said.
"We are much taller with Lenny Coons and Mike Hopper in there together," the coach said. "They had two forwards and three guards on the floor. And that one kid [Herting] fouling out was big. They were shooting the ball. I bet they shot 60 percent.
"But it’s hard to defend our size and strength," Wright added. "You have to commit to one of our big guys on defense and that opens everything up. Mike had 24 points and was four-for-four from the foul line. And another four of those points came on 15-foot jump shots."

Tuesday’s loss ended a three-game winning streak and dropped the Bulldogs to 7-6 overall and 4-3 in the WAC.

BKW plays at Schoharie on Friday and doesn’t play at home again until Jan. 30 when it takes on Schenectady Christian.