The procession, which included two police cars, a fire truck and 18 civilian vehicles, ultimately turned on to Second Street and headed to the high school several blocks away.

Near the front of the line was a yellow school bus carrying the Jamestown boys basketball team, which made all the celebration necessary after the Red & Green knocked off defending state champion Victor 51-46 in the Class AA Far West Regional at Buffalo State Sports Arena several hours earlier.

The win advanced Jamestown (21-4) into this weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association semifinals at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.

Yes, the Final Four, for the fourth time in school history and the second time in three seasons.

Jamestown's Bishop Butts eyes the basket during Saturday's Class AA Far West Regional basketball game against Victor at Buffalo State Sports Arena. Photo by Steve Garvey

The Red & Green deserved to celebrate.

Senior Bishop Butts scored 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots; junior Jaydian Johnson added 15 points, including 8 of 8 from the foul line, and dished out seven assists; sophomores Dominic Gonzalez and Elijah Farmer combined to shoot 8 of 13 from the floor between them; and seniors Greg Brumagin and Jack Carlson did all the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet, but were critical to Jamestown moving on.

Putting that together was Billy Miley, the first-year coach and alumnus of the program (Class of ’99).

When asked if he could have anticipated getting to Glens Falls 10 months ago when he accepted the job, replacing Ben Drake, Miley smiled.

“You didn’t take that bet?” he joked. “I’d like to say ‘yes,’ but no. Baby steps, one at a time, you know what I mean? … I thought we had a good chance to be really good. We certainly proved that the last couple weeks and we’ve got practice Monday to keep improving and get better for next weekend.”

Jamestown's Elijah Farmer is surrounded by Victor defenders during Saturday's Class AA Far West Regional at Buffalo State Sports Arena. Photo by Steve Garvey

To his credit, Miley never altered from his patient and poised game plan against Victor, even when the Red & Green saw a seven-point lead late in the first quarter evaporate when the Blue Devils went on a 21-4 run to seize a 24-14 lead with under three minutes to go before halftime.

By the break — thanks to Gonzalez and Butts — Jamestown had closed to within 24-20 and then used a 10-0 run during a six-minute stretch of the third period to help it build a 32-30 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.

“In the third quarter, the guards — especially Jaydian and Dom — found openings in the zone and got shots for themselves and Elijah,” Miley said.

From that point on, the Red & Green maintained their composure and never let Victor take the lead, thanks to Butts (six points), Farmer (four points) and Johnson, who was 6 for 6 from the foul line in the final minute.

The Blue Devils’ Cam Ryan drilled a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 49-45, but after a Victor timeout, Farmer inbounded the ball to Johnson, who found a wide-open Butts at the other end of the court. Upon receiving the pass, the 6-foot-4 forward took a couple dribbles and slammed the ball through the hoop, putting an exclamation point on the victory.

Jamestown's Dom Gonzalez delivers a pass during Saturday's Class AA Far West Regional against Victor at Buffalo State Sports Arena. Photo by Steve Garvey

The Red & Green will now focus their attention on Friday’s 2:15 p.m. semifinal at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls against Section VIII’s Elmont Memorial, which edged Half Hollow of XI 53-51. The winner of that game plays for a state championship at 7 p.m. Saturday against IX Our Lady of Lourdes or Section III’s West Genesee.

“Any kid that plays high school basketball in New York it’s where you want to go,” Miley said. “We’ve been there a couple times, won a couple (semifinals), but haven’t been able to win the whole thing. It’s always a really tough task, but I think we’ve had a couple tough tasks already taken care of so far this year. You never know. We’ll get out there, give it a shot and see what happens.”

NOTES: Garrett Clar led Victor with 13 points and Ryan had 12. … Jamestown shot 20 of 40 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free throw line. … By comparison, Victor was 19 of 46 and 3 of 4. … The Red & Green held a slim 23-22 rebounding edge. … Jamestown committed 11 turnovers compared to eight for the Blue Devils. … After spending much of the first half on the bench with three fouls, Farmer scored all eight of his points after intermission. … Jamestown’s previous trips to Glens Falls came in 2011, 2014 and 2022. In 2011 and 2014, the Red & Green won their semifinal game, but lost in the title game both times.

VICTOR (45)

Hopkins 3 0 7, Kubrich 1 0 2, Ryan 5 0 12, Clar 6 0 13, Johnson II 0 1 1, Leonard 3 2 8, Dake 1 0 2, Totals 19 3 45.

JAMESTOWN (51)

Farmer 4 0 8, Gonzalez 4 0 8, Brumagin 1 0 3, Carlson 0 1 1, Butts 8 0 16, Johnson 3 8 15, Totals 20 9 51.

3-point goals — Hopkins, Ryan 2, Clar, Brumagin, Johnson.

Victor 7 17 6 15 — 45

Jamestown 10 10 12 19 — 51