The Dunkirk Marauders and the Fredonia Hillbillies came together for a contest to kick off the unified basketball season. The game was competitive throughout, with plenty of memorable shots added to the highlight reel of each side’s most deserving athletes.

When the clock ticked off its final second to end the contest, Fredonia clung to a three-point lead to earn the victory 36-33 in the season opener for both teams.

The floor featured some of the elite varsity athletes from each school. Among them, Fredonia boasted boys basketball star Mike Hahn, a sectional champion from a year ago. Dunkirk’s roster featured several multi-sport standouts, including Molly DiCara, Shyla Karin, Malik McCall and K’Vion Tell.

Not one of them scored. Instead, they each shared the spotlight with their partners, and in the spotlight, the partners shined.

Fredonia’s Austin Duliba shoots a shot during the second half. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen

“This is all about those moments for athletes that are just so special,” Fredonia head coach Carol Zirkle said. “You celebrate everyone scoring, but you really celebrate certain people scoring more. You can tell that for some of them, it means so much more … and it’s exciting to see people achieve goals.”

The game was exciting from the start, with each side trading baskets evenly throughout the first period. The score was even at 6-all after one quarter of play.

“This is just amazing,” Dunkirk head coach Josh Case said. “All these kids having a good time, everybody out here for a positive cause, you can’t beat it.”

After the opening frame, Fredonia poured it on in the second quarter. Six Fredonia players scored in an 18-point second period, led by six points from Julian Ocasio and four points from Elijah Schrantz, who despite being the smallest player on the floor, lit up with the biggest smile after draining a shot from just inside the 3-point line.

After six straight Fredonia points began the period, the Hillbillies (1-0) led nearly the entire quarter to carry a 24-15 lead into halftime.

Fredonia senior Mike Hahn (11) smiles as he interacts with a teammate during the first half of a unified basketball game between the Fredonia Hillbillies and the Dunkirk Marauders at SUNY Fredonia on Thursday. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen

Then, the real fun began.

Never has the meaning of the word “unified” been more true than the halftime celebration at Thursday’s contest. The bleachers full of Fredonia State athletes from various sports spilled onto the floor to join both teams for a dance party. Some college athletes joined the Fredonia white and orange, others joined the maroon of Dunkirk, with crowds gathered to cheer on athletes who jumped into the center of the crowd to bust a move. Then, both high school teams came together and danced to the Cupid Shuffle with Fredonia State athletes alongside them.

A dance party at halftime is a Fredonia Unified Basketball tradition, with the idea of uniting both teams in the middle of competition. Having the Fredonia State athletes jump in on the fun only amplified the moment.

The players on both teams not only shared the dance floor with Fredonia State, but they shared the entire experience. From a crowd of athletes chanting “M-V-P” after big shots from players on both sides, to the Blue Devil mascot calling for cheers from the crowd, to a pizza party in the hallway just outside of the court, the first game of the year for both sides was celebrated in spectacular fashion.

“It’s at a really exciting time for these kids, but it’s compounded because it’s our first game,” Zirkle said. “… It’s just so great for them to come here and have the college kids here cheering. It’s an incredible environment. … It’s just a great, awesome environment for every kid. Every high schooler wants to play in this kind of environment, and we are very fortunate to be able to do that.”

Once the music stopped and the crowd dispersed back to their seats in the stands or on the benches, Fredonia returned to play with a nine-point advantage. The ‘Billies extended the lead to 13 by the end of the third quarter, with a 34-21 advantage with only a period left to play.

But Dunkirk wasn’t done yet.

Mekiah Sedlacek, one of the pioneers of unified sports at Dunkirk High School, had a moment for the ages at the onset of the final quarter. Already with six points to his credit in the game, Sedlacek released a shot from beyond the arc and drilled the first 3-point shot of his career. He immediately dashed to his coach and wrapped his arms around him for a hug. He then put his hands on his head in shock, then turned to the crowd and proudly held up three fingers.

“I can’t believe I made my first 3 ever. I couldn’t have done it without everybody, all my teammates,” Sedlacek said.

“It doesn’t matter what happens after that,” Case said of the embrace with Sedlacek, which he described as “pure happiness.”

But after that, Dunkirk’s run only continued to pick up steam. Sedlacek added two more buckets later in the period to increase his total to 13 points, the most among all athletes to take the floor on Thursday.

“I feel so proud of my season debut,” Sedlacek said. “I’m thankful for my friends and my coach, Mr. Case. We may have almost come back and won, but we’ll get it next time.”

Adrian Frank also drilled a 3-pointer for Dunkirk in the final frame, as part of a 12-2 run over the first seven minutes of action. Dunkirk trailed by only three points, 36-33, with under a minute to play.

“All those made shots, the big 3s coming back at the end from down 15, the kids just buckled down,” Case said. “They just made it a game by themselves. It was amazing to see.”

Fredonia, however, managed to withstand Dunkirk’s furious comeback attempt and ran out the clock to come away with a season-opening victory. As one of Fredonia High School’s most accomplished coaches across all sports from her time as a cross country coach and a girls basketball coach, Zirkle was anything but comfortable as the Fredonia lead started to slip away.

“You want to win. You want to play your best, to try to keep it still fun, but you don’t want to lose and the kids don’t want to lose,” Zirkle said. She noted that Fredonia had several one-possession losses a year ago and spoke to the tension that grew as her team quickly got shots off possession after possession as the final period wound down.

While the clock ran out with Fredonia ahead by three points, not a player that took the floor had any reason to claim Thursday’s contest as a losing effort.

“All these kids just working together, you can tell that they all care about each other. That’s what sports is supposed to be all about,” Case said. “Wins and losses are great, but I’ll take a game like this any day of the week.”