The high school basketball game between Belfry and Prestonsburg very quickly got out of hand in the state of Kentucky. What appeared to be an elbow to the head sparked a violent brawl.
Punches started flying. Multiple players and staffers had to step in to break it up.
Fighting is of course against the rules of high school basketball so there will be suspensions handed down in the coming days. It will be interesting to see who exactly is charged with what.
Belfry and Prestonsburg are on opposite trajectories.
Belfry High School is located in the small town of Belfry, Kentucky near the West Virginia border. It enrolls approximately 500 students in grades 9-12. Prestonsburg High School is located a little bit further west. It also enrolls approximately 500 students in grades 9-12.
The two schools are separated by about 50 miles because you can’t draw a straight line between them.
As far as I understand it, both the Pirates and the Blackcats compete on the Class 2A level of competition in the Bluegrass State. However, they are on two very opposite ends of the spectrum.
The Prestonsburg boys varsity basketball team has won only one game this season at 1-13. The Belfry boys varsity basketball team currently sits at 11-5.
Despite their records, they played to an extremely close game on Monday night. Belfry held off a late comeback to defeat Prestonsburg by a final score of 67-66.
A high school basketball brawl spoiled an instant classic.
As good of a game as it was, an unfortunate incident during the fourth quarter overshadows the result. Fists started flying with five minutes and 18 seconds to go.
The entire sequence of events started with a baseline out of bounds play.
A Belfry player appeared to catch a Prestonsburg player with an elbow to the head on defense as the Prestonsburg player tried to get open. When the latter turned back up the court after the ball had been put in play, the former was right there to try and lock him up. They made bumped into each other near the foul line. That set off the fireworks.
The Prestonsburg player grabbed onto the jersey of the Belfry player and started swinging. Haymakers were flying as the entire Pirates bench rushed onto the court to break up the altercation.
Although the broadcast alluded to “several guys throwing hands,” I cannot tell who exactly was doing what. I can’t tell if the Belfry players were punching at the Prestonsburg while he was down or if they were punching each other or if they were just trying to pull their teammates off of the pile.
Regardless of what happened exactly, notice how the Blackcats did not leave the bench. It is against the rules to do so and they will avoid additional suspensions because they stayed put.
However, I am curious why none of the four players who were already on the court did not spring into action. They were likely trying to avoid a punishment for fighting but they did not even try to help out their teammate. They left him to get mobbed!