On Friday, December 15, two crosstown rivals met each other in a hard fought game which resulted in a Chieftains win. During the week, the Friday night match up was much of the talk throughout the community.

Both sets of fans had high turnout, as throughout the game both student sections directed chants which were voiced back and forth at each other. Before the game even started, the team knew it was going to be an intense game.

“All of us played our hearts out,” junior Jonathan Powrozek said. “This game meant a lot to us because we wanted to show Eisenhower we could beat them.”

The game was never one-sided, as the largest lead of the game was only seven points.

Going into halftime, the game was tied at twenty-seven which showed that the game was going to be intense and come down to the wire.

“We were ready to battle in the second half,” junior Robert Koteles said. “We knew we had to get the victory and we had to continue to play hard in the second half.”

In the third quarter, the Chieftains outscored the Eagles 25 to 19, and the score was 52 to 46 with a Utica lead going in the fourth quarter.

Junior Cooper Doucette was at the game to describe how intense the game really was.

“The atmosphere for the game was insane, it was really hype,” Doucette said. “As the game winded down, it got more intense as both the fans and players got into it more.”

During the final minutes, Utica held on at the end to secure a victory against there crosstown rival. As the scoreboard hit zero seconds, fans stormed the court to celebrate with the players. For many of the players, it was a moment they’ll never forget.

“I was really happy to finally beat Ike,” senior Gjon Gjonaj said. “It was a great feeling and I’m glad we did it before I graduated.”

After a thrilling victory, the Chieftains now set out to compete for the MAC White title.