Hostile North Alabama Students Force College Basketball Rival To Airball Embarrassing Free Throw

North Alabama re-established its dominance over Austin Peay during yet another tense college basketball game on Monday night. It advanced to the ASUN Tournament Semifinals with a blowout win at home.

The crowd in Florence was so rowdy that visiting players were completely rattled from the jump.

Before we go any further, let me first backup and provide some context to this college basketball beef for those who do not keep up with mid-major hoops. This bad blood is a new thing that only dates back to the end of January. It has very quickly escalated to a full-blown rivalry.

The Governors and head coach Corey Gipson refused to shake hands with the Lions and head coach Tony Pujol after a three-point overtime loss in Florence that featured a few questionable calls. A scuffle ensued, in which athletic director Josh Looney caught a stray. Pujol had words for Gipson after the game.

Austin Peay later welcomed North Alabama to Clarksville on Feb. 5. Students painted ‘F— TONY’ on their chests. Tension was palpable throughout all 40 minutes and after the final buzzer. Gipson lost again and refused to shake the hand of Pujol for a second time, which led to one of the funniest moments of the entire season. He required his players to do the same. The whole thing was very awkward.

That brings us to Monday when he Governors returned to Florence for the ASUN Tournament. They lost by 26 and finished the year at 0-3 against the Lions. Gipson finally shook the hand of Pujol!