With 2:05 left in the third quarter, Dunkirk cut Fredonia’s seven-point lead down to one. After Dunkirk’s third straight bucket, Ben Smith said to his teammates from the bench, with a smile from ear to ear, “This is awesome!”

The game was exciting, but by the end of it, not even the coaches knew what the final score was without glancing up at the scoreboard. The Fredonia Hillbillies beat the Dunkirk Marauders, 36-29, in the first game of the year, but it wasn’t just the final score that represented a victory on Monday.

“In any sport, your goal is to win. It matters to win,” Fredonia head coach Carol Zirkle said. Still, Zirkle acknowledged that in Unified sports, winning doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone.

In Unified basketball, winning can be a player making a basket, stealing the ball on defense for the first time, or even just having fun with the friends they have made as part of the team.

SUNY Fredonia athletes celebrate after a basket during the season-opening Unified high school basketball game between Dunkirk and Fredonia at Dods Hall.

“We celebrate our wins. We all have wins in different ways, but we celebrate all of them,” Zirkle said.

What mattered most were the smiles from students on both teams, their families and friends in the stands, and their coaches on the bench.

Through the first quarter, the score was tied 6-6. Luke McKnatt and Austin Duliba were responsible for all six of Fredonia’s points in the opening frame.

Just like in the first quarter, both teams split the first 12 points of the second quarter evenly at six apiece. Ben Smith’s first basket of the day evened the score for Dunkirk at 12-12.

Smith raised his arms high in the air to celebrate after his first basket. He had the same reaction twice more later in the contest, with just as much pride for his third bucket as his first.

Ben Smith of Dunkirk (43) celebrates after making a shot during a Unified basketball game against Fredonia at Dods Hall on the SUNY Fredonia campus on Monday.

Fredonia scored six straight points to end the half. That spurt put the Hillbillies ahead 18-12 at the break — and what a break it was. Dozens of Fredonia State collegiate athletes across all sports joined the teams on the floor at halftime to dance together to the Macarena and the Cha Cha Slide.

“We love to be able to see the support, just with the amount they have included our kids in everything they are doing here at SUNY Fredonia. I remember the first year we did this, how packed it was – and it just continues to grow,” Dunkirk head coach Kyle Jarrell said. “It’s great to have the support of SUNY Fredonia.”

Among the athletes were Fredonia women’s soccer player Hannah Retzer and baseball player Zach Zentz, co-founders of the Special Olympics and Unified Sports Club at SUNY Fredonia. Zentz, a Dunkirk graduate, has been close friends with many of Dunkirk’s Unified athletes for years, dating back to his time as a Unified partner.

“The college does a great job of supporting us, bringing all those athletes out. I think it’s great for our kids, but I think it’s also great for the college kids to see what Unified is all about,” Zirkle said.

A group of college athletes gathered around Duliba during the Macarena, while Mekiah Sedlacek went all out with his best moves throughout the dance party. Sedlacek was at home in the spotlight, and he was only getting started.

Fredonia’s Luke McKnatt (22) follows through on a shot during Monday’s Unified basketball game against Dunkirk.

In the opening minute of the third quarter, after a quick bucket from each side, Sedlacek made good on a promise.

Sedlacek hit his first career 3-pointer two years ago in the season-opening game against Fredonia at Dods Hall in 2024. When he hit the shot, he ran to his coach at the time, Josh Case, and hugged him before he ran back on defense. Case described the moment as “pure happiness.”

Sedlacek still remembers that moment. Leading up to the season-opener this year, Sedlacek told his teammate, K’vion Tell, over and over how he was going to do it again.

He is a man of his word.

Sedlacek nailed a 3-pointer early in the second half on a shot that looked so effortless it caught almost everyone in the gym off guard.

Dunkirk’s Mekiah Sedlacek, left, and Ayden Hamernick, right, celebrate as one of their teammates made a basket during Monday’s Unified basketball game against Fredonia at Dods Hall.

“I didn’t know if I was going to miss it or if that thing was going to sink in,” Sedlacek said. “It feels tearful — a three in my senior year.”

Nearly every person in the building reacted as the shot went in, with jaws dropped and cheers echoing through the gym.

“He said ‘KV, I’m gonna hit a three. I got you, I’m gonna hit it.’ Then he came and did it. I didn’t expect it, but he was telling me that since the first day of practice. It was very exciting,” Tell said.

Tell can feel the support from his Unified teammates during the varsity basketball season. As Dunkirk’s boys basketball all-time leading scorer, he wants to serve as a mentor to his Unified teammates during the spring season.

“It’s really nice to see all the kids come together and play games,” Tell said. “And we really take it seriously, especially Mekiah. He wants to win and he gets emotional. I love that about him.”

After Sedlacek’s 3-pointer, Dunkirk continued its comeback to pull within one point. However, Fredonia clung to its lead and added four points in the final minutes, including a buzzer-beater layup from Devin Batten, to take a 30-25 lead into the final period.

Fredonia added six points in the final period, including buckets from Duliba and McKnatt. They each scored in every period of Monday’s game, sharing the team-high in points with 10 apiece.

Both Duliba and McKnatt have been with the Fredonia Unified program for several years. Zirkle singled out both players for how much progress they have made as basketball players, and as teammates, over the years.

“The progress that we’ve seen from when they started playing Unified to where they are now, it’s just night and day. They are looking for the ball. They want to score,” Zirkle said. “It’s a huge improvement. It’s nice to see.”

Smith made two shots in the fourth quarter for Dunkirk to lead all scorers in the final frame. His six points were second on the team, behind Sedlacek’s game-high 11 points on Monday.

“I’m so proud that my family was here. … I’m happy they saw this,” Sedlacek said. “This is a true family moment on my path in my senior year.”

After the game ended, Tell led Dunkirk through the handshake like with their heads held high. Moments after the final buzzer sounded, you couldn’t tell which team had won the game.

“We may have lost, 36-29, but there is always next game,” Sedlacek said. “Don’t worry, we’re going to get Fredonia back May 4. I’m going to get them next time.”

After the handshakes, the teams came together at mid-court along with all the Fredonia State athletes in the crowd for one group photo. Just like the halftime dance party, the postgame photo and pizza party in the hallway afterwards showed the point of the event. Two high school teams on the court and many college teams in the stands were together as one unified group for an event centered around a basketball.

That is what sports can do.

“We’re proud of all our kids – someone like K’vion Tell and Olivia Cole making sure they are spreading the ball around and helping everyone get involved; seeing Mekiah Sedlacek hit a three; the smile on Ben Smith’s face when he scores — that’s all that matters. I’m glad we’re doing it,” Jarrell said.