February 3, 2010

The Coaches and Athletes versus Cancer event in Ellsworth on Thursday, January 28 far surpassed all expectations and brought in $1533 for the American Cancer Society.  The Ellsworth boys basketball game against Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin was the selected venue for the fundraising event and was also used as an opportunity to raise cancer awareness among the students and fans.  Fans for both teams came dressed in pink as a sign of cancer awareness.  Since MLBO had their own cancer awareness night planned for Saturday, January 30, both teams wore identical warm up shirts in support of Coaches and Athletes versus Cancer.  As an added bonus, the Ellsworth team hit the floor sporting neon pink shoelaces and wore pink socks for the game.  Fans arriving for the game had the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for a basketball signed by this year's Panthers, a set of four Timberwolves lower deck tickets or an iPod shuffle.  Basketball Bingo cards were sold for $1 each with numerous prizes available.  Many fans also chose to participate in the split the pot and the half-time hoop shoot with the proceeds all going to the American Cancer Society.  The team received several donations based on total points scored in addition to whatever was added to the donations bucket.