In the past month, the boys and girls basketball teams hosted two fundraisers, one for ALS and one for cancer.

The first was a “Black and Orange” style game where the freshman, jv, and varsity teams scrimmaged themselves. There were also fan shooting contests for shirts and other prizes.

The score was not kept for any of the games, as they were not official, but many people still came.

“It was a really fun experience,” junior Jack Kraemer said. “It was for a good cause and the contests were really cool.”

The proceeds from ticket and concession sales all went towards fighting ALS.

The second of the fundraisers was to raise money for cancer research. This was though an official game against Lutheran High North.

The team sold shirts for both of these events and was successful in raising money for the two causes.

The Utica boys fell to Clintondale with a final score of 54-47, bringing the team to 0-2 on the season.

“This loss was disappointing,” sophomore Patrick O’connor said, “especially because it was our cancer game. There was a big show up and we didn’t want to let the fans down.”

Senior Parker Chmile carried the scoring load against Clintondale with 21 points. Other big contributors were junior Kuhmanu Gwilly and sophomore Patrick O’connor.

However, the games were not about wins and losses on the court; they were about raising money for cancer and ALS patients suffering everywhere and overall. Athletes, coaches and fans agreed that the games were a success.