A chaotic scene marred what had been an exciting basketball game between Texas A&M Commerce and Incarnate Word.
Punches were thrown and a wild brawl broke out after Texas A&M Commerce defeated Incarnate Word 76-72 in overtime on Monday night.
The fisticuffs appeared to break out during the handshake line when the game was over.
It’s unclear what sparked the fight, which lasted roughly two minutes as the coaches for both teams attempted to gain control of the situation.
Several Incarnate World players looked as though they had started to make their way to the locker room when they bolted back toward the bench area as the scene began to unfold.
Punches began to fly as the two teams brawled near the bench area as the fight then spilled onto the center of the court.
“A full team fight. Coaches in the middle of it,” one of the ESPN+ broadcasters said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone got a nick on the face there.”
“This is not what you want to see after it’s been a great game,” the other added. “We’ve got everything going on right now.
A separate scuffle broke out away from the main scrum which then sent players from both sides to scurry over in order to help their respective teammates.
At one point getting dangerously close to the stands where spectators had still been sitting.
One announcer said during the broadcast that somebody in the crowd had been “hurt and hit” however it’s not abundantly clear in the video when and if that occurred.
She then describes a “young girl” that had been hit and the other broadcaster then adds that one of the teams’ managers had “blood on his face.”
Eventually order was restored and they were able to get both teams into their locker rooms.
There will surely be some hefty penalties assessed for players on both sides in the Southland Conference showdown.