Although no varsity games were on the schedule for Bishop McNamara on Friday night, the gym came alive as both the Raccoons and the Rebels of the River Valley Special Recreation Association ended their basketball seasons against the Hawks of the Lincolnway Special Recreation Association.

A large turnout of students, family and friends, along with a performance from the RVSRA cheerleaders, helped to make Friday’s games memorable ones.

Although the Hawks beat the Raccoons to open the evening and then downed the Rebels to close things out, Rebel player Adam Bush, a part-time employee at McNamara on the custodial staff, said it was a great experience to be able to play in his home gym.

“I would say overall it was pretty fun to play here in front of all my friends and people out here,” Bush said. “And I just like playing with all my close friends.”

Bush’s Rebel teammate Matthew Brock also fed off the crowd that was on hand Friday.

Brock led the Rebels with 20 points and often took time to pump up the crowd and celebrate with teammates on his way down the floor after hitting big shots, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter.

He said he doesn’t usually celebrate quite as much as he did Friday, but having the crowd behind him brought it out of him.

“My dream when I was in high school was to play pro basketball, and I always felt like basketball was an outlet for me,” he said. “It’s truly something that brought me joy, and seeing the crowd just kind of fired me up a bit. It was nice.”

Bishop McNamara’s student community contributed in a big way to the success of the event.

They packed the student section of the bleachers and helped run the scorer’s table, while senior basketball players Karter Krutsinger, Callaghan O’Connor, Ian Irps and Coen Demack served as officials in the games.

Demack is no stranger to playing in loud gyms, and said the atmosphere on Friday was fun to be a part of.

“It was great,” he said. “Especially in that first game, the students all showed out today. Student attendance was amazing, and with all the fans that came out, the environment was awesome.”

Friday’s games also served as the finale for a four-week cheerleading camp the RVSRA puts on every January.

Alongside the Bishop McNamara cheerleaders, these campers cheered along the baseline during both games and entertained the crowd during the break between games.

Shannon Archer was a newcomer to the cheerleading camp this year, and said she was glad she decided to take part after enjoying the experience.

“This is my first year doing it, and I love to dance and I love to cheer and I love to be as loud as I want,” she said. “I’m excited to be out here with all my friends cheerleading.”

Emily Ramirez has been with the RVSRA for four years, the last two of which have been as director of programming.

Ramirez said that events like Friday’s take lots of planning and requires people from across the community to work together to get everything lined up.

Seeing everything come together Friday makes all the work worthwhile.

“The events like this are one of my favorite things to put on because of partnerships I get to create with everyone in the community,” she said. “I love this atmosphere (McNamara principal Kaelyn Bess) is creating and the inclusiveness she’s trying to create, so I thought it’d be a great partnership.”

Bess has volunteered at and helped to run the cheerleading camp for the last three years and said she was happy to have the opportunity to host RVSRA games for the first time at Bishop McNamara.

Seeing the turnout from the students and community meant a lot to her and everyone who helped put the event on.

“It really makes me emotional, as a special education teacher by trade and a Best Buddies sponsor,” she said. “Coming to McNamara, one of my goals was to make this environment very inclusive to all individuals. Tonight is an example of how we are doing all we can to make McNamara an inclusive and welcoming environment to everybody.”