The Dunkirk Marauders and the Fredonia Hillbillies met in a Unified basketball game on Tuesday at Dods Hall on the campus of SUNY Fredonia.

The game was tightly contested, especially through the first half.

The crowd was loud.

The programs are storied rivals.

Fredonia’s Luke McKnatt (22) shoots a shot during the first half of Tuesday’s Unified basketball game against Dunkirk at SUNY Fredonia.

There was a winner and a loser: Fredonia won 48-35.

But none of that tells the story of why Tuesday night mattered. A Unified sports contest hosted by SUNY Fredonia set the stage for memories that will live forever.

“It really is an event that the whole community looks forward to every year. To be part of it, I don’t think it gets any better as a coach,” said Dunkirk head coach Josh Case.

The same contest a year ago — the season opening contest for both Dunkirk and Fredonia – gave a platform for Mekiah Sedlacek and Case, his head coach, to hug each other after Sedlacek hit a 3-pointer. Fredonia won that game, 36-33, but it wasn’t the score that lasted in the minds and hearts of those who were there that day.

Tuesday’s iteration of the friendliest of rivalries provided several moments of significance that will resonate the same way.

Dunkirk’s Benjamin Smith (43) celebrates after making a shot in a Unified basketball game against Fredonia on Tuesday at Dods Hall on the campus of SUNY Fredonia.

For Fredonia, a simple moment between teammates showed what the true love of the game is all about.

After a shot by Austin Duliba bounced around the rim and in, he put his hands on his head in reaction to the ball falling through the net. As his arms remained raised and his hands pressed to his head, two of his teammates – Lydia LaBarr and Emily Schwertfeger – reached out to pat him on the back.

“It’s always really exciting because we want them to shine. That’s what Unified sports is all about, to let the athletes shine,” LaBarr said. “The athletes love to play. Being encouraging and lifting them up, it makes us really happy.”

Fredonia head coach Carol Zirkle added, “Every good team has that, but I think that in Unified, it stands out more. There’s more moments that are really celebrated. … Any team at any level should have that, but in Unified, we really need to celebrate each other’s victories, whatever those victories are.”

For Dunkirk, it was a newcomer’s first highlight as an athlete in the maroon and white that inspired a cheer that will echo forever.

Nearly seven minutes into the second quarter, Benjamin Smith established himself in the offensive zone on the end of the court furthest from his team’s bench. As he released a shot and watched it fall through the net, he immediately raised both of his arms high in the air. Smith’s smile remained as he walked back toward his bench to play defense.

As Smith approached his bench and the fans sitting behind it, he looked over, arms still raised, and said proudly, “I did it!”

Case said how special the moment was for Smith because he is not only new to Dunkirk, but new to the sport in general.

“He was just living his best life,” Case said. “That’s what it’s all about. You live for those moments. State championships and all that is great, but nothing beats that. Those are the memories that get ingrained forever.”

Before the memorable second quarter, Dunkirk got off to a strong start on Tuesday. Dunkirk scored six of the first eight points in the contest, including a pair of buckets from Franyel Amparo. The Marauders added a 3-pointer from Norberto Rodriguez with close to three minutes left in the opening frame.

Fredonia closed the gap with a buzzer-beater from LaBarr to pull within a point after the opening frame. As a partner to her teammates with different strengths, LaBarr passed the ball to others throughout the contest, but after collecting a loose ball near the free-throw line with just two seconds left, she put up a shot of her own and registered her own name on the score sheet.

“Unified is all about inclusion. Being able to play in this game, it’s really fun to be a part of something like this,” LaBarr said.

After the first quarter concluded, the Fredonia Blue Devils hockey team stepped onto the floor. The hockey team was one of the many college sports teams that filled the stands on Tuesday in support of the Unified athletes and partners from the community. During the break, four members of the hockey program – including head coach Jeff Meredith – were pied in the face to make good on a fundraising promise.

Once the floor was cleared, the second quarter began, and it was every bit as close as the first. Dunkirk extended its lead to five points several times throughout the first half, but Fredonia continued to answer.

“I like that we have players looking to pass the ball. I thought we did a better job in the second half of actually running our offense. In the first half, it sort of looked like we had no offense, but we really do, we just weren’t doing it in the first half,” Zirkle said. “… It just takes a while.”

By the time the second quarter concluded, the teams traded places from where they were at the beginning of the period. Fredonia grabbed its first lead of the contest in the final two minutes of the half, 20-19.

“They never gave up. They kept playing,” Case said. “I think we just got tuckered out there at the end but the kids never gave up.”

The teams then paused for a gym-wide dance party at halftime, with representatives from sports across the university joining the Unified athletes and partners on the floor to dance together, including line dancing and the Macarena.

“Fredonia State, it’s so awesome that they do this for us. They make it such a cool event that you want to do this every year,” Case said. “If every game could be like this, it would be amazing. They do all the legwork. We just show up and play.”

Throughout the rest of the evening, Fredonia built upon its lead. By the end of the third quarter, the Hillbillies led 34-27. The first 12 points of the final frame were shared equally, but Fredonia closed on an 8-2 run to end the game with a 13-point win.

“Every team goes out to try to win. That’s your goal in sports, to try to win,” Zirkle said of the dilemma she faces as a Unified sports coach. “It’s not your primary goal – your primary goal is teaching sportsmanship and character and teamwork, but if the goal isn’t to win, why are you doing it?”

The focal point of Zirkle’s teaching process with her team early this year is perseverance. Tuesday’s contest gave her the perfect result – a victory at the end, but the ability to witness her team persevere through an early deficit.

Fredonia had eight scorers on the evening, with Austin Duliba and Julian Ocasio sharing the title of the team’s top scorer with 14 points apiece. Eight scorers also paced Dunkirk, led by Franyel Amparo’s 14 points, as well. The two teams meet again later this season on Monday, May 19 at Dunkirk High School.

But more important than the final score were the moments that will last for weeks, for months, and for years to come. Both sides had plenty of those moments on Tuesday.