Though it was close throughout, the final half of the unified basketball game Monday afternoon, Oct. 7 crowned Dartmouth as victors for the second time this season.

Despite the good game brought by the Wareham Vikings, Dartmouth defeated the team 41-29.

Assistant Coach Ashley “KP” Kocur-Pierpont said a difference this season for the team was starting out the school year with a unified physical education class, which focused on the fundamentals of basketball. 

KP said by the time everyone got together to practice for the season, a lot less teaching needed to be done than usual. 

With 30 players on the team, KP said, “Participation is always great,” but what they’d like to focus on this season is working as a “cohesive” team.

She added, “We are super grateful we have such an inclusive community and every year our numbers seem to grow.”

With a good amount of seniors graduating last year, the team welcomed a lot of new players, KP said. 

“We’re really looking forward to seeing some players who have never played basketball before learn a new sport and have a lot of fun,” she added.

Nick DaSilva, a senior peer on the team, said he’s been playing unified basketball since he was a freshman, transferring from Fairhaven in his sophomore year.

“Both of my parents work in the special education field, so I’ve always been around helping out,” DaSilva said, adding how he recalls helping out at the New Bedford Special Olympics with his mom when he was little.

He said his goal for himself this season is to get to know more of the players.

“My first year here, I was very quiet, but then once you start to get to know [the team] … you really get to know more about them,” he said.

He added the key is to work on communication and understanding that everyone communicates differently.

“It’s a great program here,” DaSilva said. “I love it. We have a really good community here, too.”