Fulton at Ithaca – – Boys Basketball – – B4 Foundation Fundraiser – – The Bleacher Denizen – – December 30, 2025

Today, your Bleacher Denizen is in Ithaca covering the B4 Foundation Fundraiser. The Fulton Pirates and Ithaca Yellowjackets boys and girls varsity and JV basketball teams are playing four games to raise funds for this important organization that works to prevent suicide.

To learn more about the B4 Foundation and the important work they do, here is a link to their website.

https://www.theb4foundation.org/

While we wait for this game to start, I hope you will enjoy this cover video of “Sweet Home Chicago” from my You Tube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSRyFHU5RpM.

Ithaca won the varsity girls’ game. A link to that game and a scoring summary of the JV game are in this link! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2025/12/31/fulton-at-ithaca-girls-basketball-b4foundation-fundraiser-the-bleacher-denizen-december-30-2025-by-chuck-krafft/

The Fulton and Ithaca boys’ JV and varsity teams will compete in the final two games of the day. The Pirates enter this game with a 3-4 record while the Yellowjackets are at 0-5.

I have already seen Fulton a couple times this year. Coach Tyler Walden provided me with this information about his Pirate players.

Bryson Sattler is a senior guard who always competes. He handles the ball well, can slash to the basket and is a tough perimeter defender. Parker Billings is the big man in the post for the Pirates. He defends the post well, rebounds consistently and is a major scoring threat in the post. Connor Cunningham defends the perimeter with toughness. Carter Brown slashes to the basket well and is a strong rebounder.

Cameron Diana is a quick and motivated defensive force on the perimeter. Levi Palacios is another strong defender who brings a solid three point shot to the Pirates. Zach Litwiller is a fine athlete who starred for last year’s JV team and quarterbacked a good Fulton football team. He has been coming back from an injury. He is a solid ball handler who defends on the perimeter. He is dangerous driving to the basket and can also hit three point shots.

Ithaca Coach Josh Rayburn provided me with this information about his Yellowjacket players.

Gibson Rondy is a junior in his third year on the Yellowjacket varsity. He is a versatile offensive player who can snipe from the three point line or slash to the basket to score. Jaren Paradise is a tough perimeter defender who can score from the three point line. Devyn Fisher is an athletic player who defends and rebounds well in the paint. Adam Poff is a fine ball handler who provides strong leadership to the Yellowjackets.

Bentlee Skinner is a freshman guard with a great basketball IQ who is tough to stop when he slashes to the basket. Braylon Kench and Jaxson Whitmore, a freshman who is injured and cannot play today are good three point shooters. Griffin Marcy defends and rebounds well in the post. Jacob Crawford is a strong player who scores, defends and rebounds in the paint. Riley Guild, a good rebounder and Tanner Larney, a solid perimeter defender are both injured and unable to play.

In the JV game, Fulton started out strong and took an 18-9 lead after one quarter. Ithaca outscored Fulton 9-7 in the second quarter to trim Fulton’s lead to 25-18 at halftime. Ithaca outscored Fulton 14-6 in the third quarter to take a 32-31 lead going into the final quarter.

The teams played closely in the fourth quarter. Fulton took the lead when Jacob Alexander hit two free throws just fifteen seconds after the quarter started and extended their lead to 35-32 when Jacob Alexander passed to Jennings Burley, who hit a layup.

Rayland Perez passed to Brody Hubbard, who hit a layup to close the lead to one point and tied the game at 35-35 when Brody Hubbard hit a free throw with 50 seconds to go. Fulton took a one point lead with Lucas Podolak was fouled an hit a free throw two seconds later.

Koal Duflo stole the ball and hit a layup to give Ithaca the lead. After Fulton missed a three pointer, but got the ball back when the rebound went out of bounds. Koal Duflo was fouled and hit a free throw for the Yellowjackets and they had a 38-36 lead with 12 seconds to play.

Brody Hubbard was fouled when he rebounded a Fulton miss and hit two free throws to give Ithaca a 40-36 lead with just 1.3 seconds to play. This proved important when Blake Overholt hit a long three point shot for Fulton as the buzzer sounded to cut the Ithaca lead to 40-39, which was the final score.

Eli Coblentz and Blake Overholt each had 9 points to lead the Fulton JV scoring. Jacob Alexander supported his teammate with 8 points. Jennings Burley, Lucas Podolak and Tyler McDonald each added 3 points. Jackson Childers and Izaya Palacios-Dehuelves each had 2 points.

Koal Duflo led the victorious Ithaca JVs with 15 points. Justice Mcdaid chipped in with 9 points. John Snyder and Brody Hubbard each added 5 points. Brody Lebaron scored 4 points and Dutch Smith tallied 2 points.

It is now time to look at the events of this game through the somewhat open eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. When your Bleacher Denizen attempted to disregard the laws of physics and attempted to dribble the basketball off his feet to be creative, his coach was dismayed at the results of this. He lectured your Bleacher Denizen about the laws of physics and its affect on his turnover rate and then arranged for your Bleacher Denizen to have a great seat on the bench for the rest of the season.

Fulton wins the opening tap. Jaren Paradise plays tough defense and forces a Fulton traveling violation. Ithaca misses a driving layup. Jaren Paradise steals the ball for the Yellowjackets. Bryson Sattler ties up a Yellowjacket pass in the lane. The Possession Arrow was involved in a video game and missed the play; the ball is awarded to Ithaca.

Ithaca misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Fulton fumbles a pass out of bounds. Ithaca misses a driving layup. An Ithaca foul before the shot negates a Fulton layup. Gibson Rondy steals the ball for the Yellowjackets. Ithaca misses a six foot shot from the baseline. Parker Billings passes to Connor Cunningham, who is cutting to the basket; he hits a layup to give his Pirates the first two points of the game.

Ithaca misses a driving layup. Fulton misses a three point shot from the side. Bentlee Skinner passes to a Yellowjacket teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Levi Palacios leaps to prevent a bad pass from becoming a Fulton turnover. Connor Cunningham hits a threeball from the side for the Pirates. The score is now Connor Cunningham 5 Ithaca 0.

Ithaca throws a pass out of bounds. Fulton misses a three pointer from the side. Zach Litwiller blocks an Ithaca layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and the Yellowjackets get another opportunity. Bryson Sattler steals an Ithaca pass. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Ithaca takes possession.

The Yellowjackets miss a three point shot from the side. Jaren Paradise dives and steals the ball for Ithaca. Bryson Sattler knocks the ball away from Ithaca, but the Yellowjackets are able to recover. Zach Litwiller blocks a Yellowjacket layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Fulton takes possession. Bentlee Skinner steals the ball for Ithaca. Bentlee Skinner hits a fast break layup, is fouled and makes his free throw to cut the Fulton lead to 5-3 with 1:50 remaining in the opening quarter.

Griffin Marcy steals the ball for the Yellowjackets. Ithaca misses a three point shot from the wing. Jacob Crawford knocks the ball away from the PIrates, but Fulton recovers. Parker Billings hits a two point basket for Fulton. (My face was down in my notes, but the announcer said it was him, so that is good enough for me. Also, the scorebook proves me right!) Levi Palacios steals the ball for the Pirates and passes to Bryson Sattler, who hits a three point shot from the wing to boost his Pirates to a 10-3 lead.

Ithaca misses a threeball from the top of the key as the first quarter buzzer seeks attention and blares to end the quarter.

After one quarter, Fulton holds a 10-3 lead.

Fulton inbounds the ball to start the second quarter. Bryson Sattler drives and dishes the ball to Levi Palacios, who hits a threeball from the side for the Pirates. Levi Palacios gets his hand on a Yellowjacket pass and Ithaca loses the ball out of bounds. Bryson Sattler is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws to give Fulton a 14-3 lead with 6:59 left in the opening half.

Ithaca misses a driving six foot shot in the lane. Cameron Diana passes to Parker Billings, who drives and hits a layup for the Pirates. Ithaca misses a three pointer from the wing. Devyn Fisher saves the rebound for the Yellowjackets and passes to Gibson Rondy, who hits a layup for Ithaca. Gibson Rondy steals the ball and is fouled as he shoots a layup. He makes two free throws to trim Fulton’s lead to 16-7 with 5:45 remaining in the half.

Bryson Sattler is fouled on a driving layup and sinks two free throws for the Pirates. Ithaca misses a threeball from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Fulton commits an offensive foul. Ithaca misses a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Yellowjackets get another opportunity. Ithaca misses a three point shot from the side.

Gibson Rondy steals a Pirate pass. Ithaca misses a three point shot from the side. Devyn Fisher gets his hand on the ball, but Fulton recovers. Fulton misses a layup. Bryson Sattler pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Connor Cunningham passes to Parker Billings, who hits a layup to give Fulton a 20-7 lead.

Ithaca misses a three point shot from the corner. Adam Poff blocks a Fulton layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Fulton gets another possession. Fulton misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw elbow. The Pirates get the offensive rebound, but turn the ball over. Levi Palacios knocks the ball out of bounds; Ithaca gets the ball back. Ithaca misses a three point shot from the side. Fulton misses a layup. Gibson Rondy is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to cut the Fulton lead to 20-9 with 1:40 remaining in the half.

Fulton misses a three point shot from the side. Jaren Paradise is fouled on the rebound and hits one of his two free throws for Ithaca. Bryson Sattler passes to Connor Cunningham, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key for Fulton. Jacob Crawford passes to Jaren Paradise, who hits a three point shot from the side for Ithaca. Fulton misses a three pointer from the side. Ithaca misses a heave as the buzzer decrees that the first half is over.

Fulton has a 23-13 lead at halftime.

Gibson Rondy leads the Ithaca scoring with 6 points and Jaren Paradise has 4 points.

Connor Cunningham leads Fulton with 8 points. Parker Billings and Bryson Sattler each have 6 points.

As I cannot bring the halftime proceedings to you, I hope you will enjoy these two videos from my You Tube Channel.

“Bring It On Home To Me” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flgzousiL9g

An original tune, “A Man Like Me” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTdeYRUEOkc

Ithaca inbounds the ball to open quarter number three. The Yellowjackets misfire on a threeball from the side. Devyn Fisher grabs the offensive rebound for the Yellowjackets. Ithaca misses a layup. Fulton misses a three point shot from the side. Bryson Sattler fights and forces Ithaca to lose the rebound out of bounds. Fulton misses a layup. Parker Billings hits a putback to boost the Pirate lead to 25-13.

Ithaca misses a threeball from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Zach Litwiller knocks the ball out of bounds; Ithaca retains possession. Devyn Fisher is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Fulton lead to 25-14 with 5:45 remaining in quarter number three.

Fulton commits an offensive foul. Ithaca misses a threeball from the corner and fouls on the rebound. Parker Billings passes to Connor Cunningham, who is cutting to the basket and is fouled. Connor Cunningham hits one of his two free throws for Fulton. Parker Billings knocks the ball away from Ithaca and Bryson Sattler picks it up for Fulton. Fulton misses a fast break layup. Bentlee Skinner passes to Braylon Kench, who hits a layup for Ithaca. Connor Cunningham throws in a threeball from the wing to give Fulton a 29-16 lead.

Griffin Marcy hits a layup for Ithaca. Connor Cunningham hits a three point shot from the side for the Pirates. Bryson Sattler gets a hand on the ball, but Ithaca recovers. Carter Brown blocks a Yellowjacket ten foot shot from the side. Connor Cunningham throws in another threeball, this time from the wing, for Fulton. Gibson Rondy drives, spins and hits a layup for Ithaca. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 2:44 remaining in quarter number three, Fulton’s lead is at 35-20.

Braylon Kench pulls down the offensive rebound for the Yellowjackets. Ithaca missed a threeball from near the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fulton takes possession. The Pirates miss a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane. Bentlee Skinner drives and hits a layup for Ithaca; he is fouled and hits his free throw to shave the Fulton lead to 35-23 with 1:48 to play in quarter number three.

Bryson Sattler passes to Carter Brown, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Fulton. Ithaca misses a three point shot from the side. Zach Litwiller is fouled on a drive to the basket and hits two free throws to give his Pirates a 39-23 lead with 1:28 remaining in quarter number three.

Cameron Diana and Carter Brown double team Ithaca and the Yellowjackets lose the ball out of bounds. Cameron Diana is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Fulton. Ithaca misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Carter Brown is fouled on the long rebound and hits one of his two free throws for Fulton with 10.5 seconds to go in the quarter. Bentlee Skinner is fouled and hits one of his two free throws with 2.5 seconds left. Fulton misses a long heave as the buzzer calls for an end to quarter number three.

With three quarters in the books, Fulton has a 41-24 lead.

Fulton inbounds the ball to open the final quarter. The Pirates miss a three point shot from the side. Cameron Diana pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton is assessed with a traveling violation. Ithaca misses a layup. Bryson Sattler passes to Parker Billings, who hits a reverse layup to boost the Pirate lead to 43-24.

Ithaca misses a driving layup. Bentlee Skinner grabs the offensive rebound for the Yellowjackets. Bryson Sattler blocks an Ithaca layup, corrals the loose ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. Bryson Sattler hits two free throws to give Fulton a 45-24 lead with 6:04 left on the clock.

Ithaca misses a three pointer from the corner. Jaren Paradise hits a putback for the Yellowjackets. Gibson Rondy knocks the ball away from Fulton and Adam Poff grabs it for Ithaca. Ithaca misses a fast break layup. Fulton reciprocates and misses a fast break layup. Levi Palacios gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton misses a layup. Jaren Paradise passes to Gibson Rondy, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to cut the Fulton lead to 45-28 with 4:53 to play.

Fulton misses a reverse layup. Ithaca is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. Devyn Fisher steals the ball for the Yellowjackets. Ithaca misfires on a triple try from the side. Adam Poff steals the ball and is fouled on a layup. He hits one of his two free throws for Ithaca. With 3:48 to go, Fulton holds a 45-29 lead.

Fulton misses a three pointer from the side. Bryson Sattler gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Connor Cunningham is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws for Fulton with 3:18 to go to give the Pirates a 46-29 lead.

Ithaca missed a driving layup. Griffin Marcy knocks the ball away from Fulton, but the Pirates recover. Fulton runs time off the clock until Gibson Rondy steals the ball. Ithaca misses a fast break layup. Gibson Rondy steals the ball and throws it off a Fulton player as he is falling out of bounds to give Ithaca another possession. Ithaca misses a three point shot as the buzzer ends the game.

Fulton wins 46-29.

Gibson Rondy led the Ithaca scoring with 10 points. Bentlee Skinner pitched in with 7 points and Jaren Paradise contributed 6 points. Braylon Kench and Griffin Marcy each had 2 points. Devyn Fisher and Adam Poff each tallied 1 point.

Connor Cunningham hit five three point shots, three of them in quick succession in the third quarter, on his way to leading the Fulton scoring with 19 points. Parker Billings joined his teammate in double figures with 10 points. Bryson Sattler contributed 8 points. Levi Palacios and Carter Brown each put in 3 points. Zach Litwiller scored 2 points and Cameron Diana had 1 point.