MASON, Ohio —
The Lindner Family Tennis Center was packed on Wednesday as a unique college basketball event made its way to Mason.
The Cincinnati Bearcats defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Xavier Musketeers knocked off the Dayton Flyers in the CareSource Invitational, which featured a pair of scrimmages played on an outdoor tennis court.
Cincinnati trailed Ohio State at halftime in Jerrod Calhoun’s first unofficial game with the Bearcats but stormed back in the second half to win 79-68.
Tulsa transfer guard Tylen Riley led Cincinnati with 23 points, while Towson transfer guard Tyler Tejada poured in 17. Both are expected to play major roles for Calhoun’s first Bearcats’ team, which is comprised entirely of newcomers.
Xavier defeated the Flyers 82-76 in the second game of the doubleheader, backed by 19 points from LSU transfer Mike Nwoko and four threes by Texas A&M transfer Ruben Dominguez.
Xavier head coach Richard Pitino said leading up to the game that he’s impressed by the depth of his Musketeers squad, which was on display Wednesday as four Xavier players scored in double figures.
Cincinnati, Xavier and Dayton are aiming to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing last season’s Big Dance, while Ohio State is aiming to return after a first-round loss to TCU.