Utica basketball is back in season. The team has had a rough past two seasons, and are looking to go back to where they were two years ago, when they finished with an 18-3 record. Utica hasn’t had much success since then, but many players have a positive outlook for this season.

The Chieftains are looking to start out this season with a bang, especially the seniors on the team. This year, there are six returning seniors and two new seniors on the team.

“If there is anything the team lacks this year, it won’t be leadership,” sophomore Jason Grohman said.

One game that is highly anticipated is the Cancer Charity game. The game will be held in the main gym at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4.

The Chieftains are looking to change the result of last year’s game, according to senior Sam Goepper.

“We lost last year in the final seconds of the game,” Goepper said. “It was a tough game to lose.”

Last year, the team had only one senior leading the team. Goepper believes this may be the reason why they didn’t have a strong season.

    “I think our biggest problem was turnovers, which happened to cost us a lot of games,” Goepper said.

    The Chieftains are hoping their leadership this year will result in a strong season.