The Southland Conference suspended eight players Wednesday for their involvement in a massive college basketball brawl that followed Texas A&M-Commerce's 76-72 overtime victory at Incarnate Word on Monday night.
The fight, which broke out during the handshake line, lasted more than a minute and spread across the court as players and coaches from both teams tried to stop the melee. It is unclear what sparked the fight.
Four players from each team were suspended for “blatant unsportsmanlike” actions, the conference said. Suspensions will begin immediately.
Texas A&M-Commerce's Jerome Brewer Jr., Ant Abraham and Kwo Agwa were suspended three games, while teammate Prince Davies received a one-game suspension.
For Incarnate Word, guard Elijah Davis received a three-game suspension. Alex Anderson, Gabe Beny Til and Marcus Glover were each suspended two games.
“The Southland Conference Board of Directors has established clear expectations for the sportsmanship and behavior of our student-athletes, coaches and spectators during and after competitions. Unfortunately, these expectations were not met on Monday night, and “The Southland Conference will not tolerate any unsportsmanlike behavior,” Southland Commissioner Chris Grant said in a statement. “I would like to extend our thanks to A&M-Commerce athletics director Jim Curry and [Incarnate Word] Athletic Director Richard Duran for his unwavering collaboration and diligent resolution of this matter.”
Both schools issued a joint statement Monday night saying there is “no place in college sports” for what happened after the game.
“The unsportsmanlike conduct that occurred after the game does not reflect the values of the universities involved, as well as the Southland Conference and its member institutions,” the statement said.
