ST. PAUL, Minn. – With the first games right around the corner, the Concordia-St. Paul men's and women's basketball teams showcased their talent for this season at last night's Hoop Madness event. The October 28^th action took place at the Gangelhoff Center and was hosted by Chick-Fil-A as students and fans got the chance to meet the 2019-20 Golden Bear basketball teams.
 
The promotional event is aimed towards student engagement as the teams are introduced to the public before they hit the court for their first games of the season.
 
The evening started with a bang as a team of CSP basketball coaches went up against two teams of students in a Nugget Eating Challenge sponsored by Chick-Fil-A. The team consisting of football players, Dylan Wood and Jarod Olsgaard, and soccer players, Jordyn Clark and Jackie Ehlert, was the first to clear 40 nuggets and took home the Chick-Fil-A prize pack.
 
After the opening contest, the teams got their chance to shine in an inner-squad scrimmage. The men and women played five vs five against their teammates, giving the crowd a preview of the talent that is to manifest this winter. The men showed off their dunks while the women showed off their ability to shoot and move the ball.
 
Next up was the shooting star's competition, which granted two lucky students from the crowd a chance to team up with a player from each team. Senior Max Keefe from the men's team, and senior Cassidy Byrd from the women's, teamed up with Jack Young from the baseball team for free-throws, three-pointers, and a half-court shot. They overruled the competition as Byrd swished the half courter to claim the win for her team.
 
In the women's skills challenge, junior Sidney Wentland defeated sophomore Sydney Shultz in the championship. Senior Jordan Coblin of the men's team beat reigning three-point shooting champion, junior Riley Wheatcraft, 12-8 in the championship to claim this year's sharpshooter title.
 
The final event of the night created the most excitement as the men put on a slam dunk contest. Junior Cody Carlson got it started with a double clutch reverse, and then sophomore Kenny Holz with an off-the-glass alley-oop. But it was freshman George Scharlau who won over the judges with his tomahawk slam and 360 dunk in the finals, making him the 2019-20 dunk champion.
 
The women's basketball team open play with an exhibition game against Augsburg University on October 29^th at 7 p.m. in the Gangelhoff Center. They start the regular season in St. Joseph, Missouri on November 8^th against Missouri Western and November 9^th against Fort Hays State.
 
The men's team will play an exhibition game on November 2^nd against South Dakota State at their home facility, and then travel to Wisconsin for the Parkside Tournament on November 15^th and 16^th.