(L-R) Medford High School boys basketball coach and Tufts alumnus John Skerry, Tufts President Anthony P. Monaco and Somerville High School boys basketball Coach Mark Antonelli pose at the 2017 Tufts Classic (Credit: Paul Rutherford, Tufts University)

The Medford High School Mustangs and Somerville High School Highlanders girls and boys basketball teams will continue their rivalry at the 2nd Annual Tufts Classic on Sunday, Jan. 14, at the Cousens Gymnasium on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus. The girls’ game will tip off at 2:30 p.m., and the boys’ game will tip off at 4 p.m.

Last year, the Highlander boys defeated the Mustangs, 60-49. This is the first year in which the girls’ teams will compete in the Tufts Classic, and it is the only time Medford and Somerville will meet all season.

Tufts has connections to both teams. The Medford boys’ team is coached by Tufts alumnus John Skerry, who captained the Jumbo men’s basketball team in 1994. Senior Tufts women’s basketball forward Melissa Baptista, a leader on the court and in the Tufts community, is a Somerville High girls’ basketball alumna.

Event staff will be accepting donations for the Somerville Homeless Coalition during the games as well. Interested attendees should bring items such as hats, gloves, coats and blankets to help neighbors in need cope with winter weather.

Players from all four teams will receive specially-branded Tufts Classic t-shirts to commemorate their participation in the doubleheader.

The Tufts Classic is just one way that Tufts Athletics supports young athletes in the Jumbos’ host communities. Through an agreement between Tufts and Somerville, Somerville youth soccer and lacrosse players have access to Tufts athletic fields for spring season practices and games. Tufts men’s lacrosse and football teams host annual coat and food drives for Somerville Homeless Coalition. Jumbo athletes also act as mentors for local children through Team IMPACT, a program co-founded by Tufts alumni that pairs children with severe or chronic illnesses with college athletes. For more information on team-specific community engagement, visit http://www.gotuftsjumbos.com/information/saac.

Admission to the Tufts Classic doubleheader is free.

~Tufts University