Tonight, the Bearcats and Musketeers came together here at the Cintas Center for a great summertime rivalry collaboration that included alumni, current players, and fans taking part in a evening of basketball. As many people know this is one of the most historic rivalries in all of college basketball on the court as these universities are roughly 4 miles apart, but tonight it was a great showcase to get the city of Cincinnati involved for some summertime fun!
The event featured a skills completions in a hot shot competition and three point competition, where Souley Baum from Xavier would lead the way with a high of 18, followed by Adam Kunkel with 17 and Jeremiah Davenport with 15.
We got to talk to some players after the teams skills competition and elaborate on the event that brought the two universities together for this awesome event.
“It’s a great feeling being able to collaborate with the Cincinnati guys knowing the rivalry and the history these two programs have, to be able to come out and do something like this for the community it’s a big thing. Seeing those fans come support us when it’s not basketball season, it just shows what is yet to come for the future. To go out in the community and make this impact, hang out with kids, spend time with them, it’s a great experience.“
Xavier Guard Adam Kunkel said the Musketeers actually came to camp at UC and worked one of the camps for a few hours ahead of this awesome event that brought the city of Cincinnati together.
Bearcats forward John Newman elaborated on the event and what it was like to get involved with Xavier for this Crosstown Collaborative.
“It feels amazing to do this, see the fans come out from both fan bases out here supporting their respected teams, it’s awesome because they show you how big the Crosstown shootout actually is for the city of Cincinnati. It’s an awesome thing to be a part of. It was a lot of fun to work with the Xavier guys for this event.”
The Cincinnati and Xavier rivalry is one of the most historic rivalries in all of college basketball and the players know that, and when it comes to battle it out in December things will look a little different than today’s friendly collaboration that was a major success.
The Bearcats Nasty Nati squad split the series of two mini games ahead of the TBT where the teams each won one game. The Bearcats team looked like it can give a lot of teams trouble and that guys like Troy Caupain, Jacob Evans, Jarron Cumberland and more who played their college careers together haven’t missed a beat over the years. A great night of scrimmages as they head into Monday’s opening round versus the Fort Wayne Champs that will be played at 6 pm at the Cintas Center.
