The high school basketball game between Edison and University Prep came to an unfortunate end in Detroit on Friday night. A nasty brawl in the crowd caused a 30-minute delay as local security worked with coaches, school officials and parents to deescalate the situation.
Fortunately, none of the players were allowed to get involved with the mayhem despite their best efforts.
It was a chaotic end to a crucial postseason high school basketball game in Michigan. The victors will not be impacted for their next matchup.
University Prep defeated Edison to win the Division 2 district final in Detroit.
The University Prep Academy and the Detroit Edison Public School Academy are separated by only three miles in the city of Detroit, Michigan. They are both public charter schools. UPrep enrolls less than 600 students in Grades 9-12. Edison, also known as the Early College of Excellence, enrolls approximately 500 students in Grades 9-12.
Both high school basketball programs finished above .500. The Panthers entered Friday night at 13-9. The Pioneers entered at 16-7. It was the former that defeated the latter by a final score of 66-57.
UPrep took a five-point lead into the locker room at halftime. It opened the second half on a 12-2 run and went up by 16 after three quarters. Edison tried to mount a comeback but could not overcome the deficit.
The Panthers will advance to the regional semifinals with the win. But the score was not the story.
A high school basketball brawl spoiled the ending.
It is not entirely clear as to what triggered the altercation in the stands. UPrep and Edison fans sitting next to each other started throwing hands after some initial trash talk.
“I looked over in the stands and saw a lot of commotion,” Edison head coach Brandon Neely told the Detroit Free Press. “I saw no details at all, don’t know what happened. One of my players said his dad said a kid just swung on him. I don’t know if they were going back and forth with verbiage or what caused it.”
The situation very quickly escalated from there. The game was paused with 2:24 remaining in the fourth quarter when the fight broke out in the crowd.
A fight broke out in the stands. One Edison players tried to join. Game is paused
— Jared Ramsey (@jared_ramsey22) February 28, 2026
UPrep up 58-47 with 2:24 left pic.twitter.com/RIl30ZsKSZ
One Edison player ran toward the stands and tried to get involved. He was restrained by a teammate. His head coach eventually dragged him off of the court.
Meanwhile, the fight spilled onto the hardwood.
It escalated onto the court https://t.co/F5UcjA7Ffj pic.twitter.com/llBGZM4os9
— Jared Ramsey (@jared_ramsey22) February 28, 2026
Detroit Metro Police arrived to Edison High School after about 10 minutes. They, along with school officials and on-site security, removed various fans from the stands over the next 20 minutes.
It took about 30 minutes to resolve the situation. Play was eventually allowed to continue.
UPrep did not have a single player get involved. Edison finished the game down two players because they took a step into the bleachers during the altercation.