There are differing reports on whether both benches cleared.
“There was no question that there was a scuffle between players,’’ said CM athletic director Alex Campea. “But both benches did not empty. If both benches had emptied it would have been an immediate ejection, so that didn’t happen.’’
It took several minutes before coaches, officials, and parents were able to clear the court and resume the game. When the dust settled, CM’s Chris Siggers and BC High’s Mike Corcoran were ejected for their part in the altercation. Both Siggers and Corcoran have received two-game suspensions.
“Did some of the people in the crowd become more active than they should have been? Absolutely,’’ said Campea. “But it didn’t last more than 3 or 4 minutes. Coaches [and] administrators took charge of the situation and everything was fine.’’
According to Campea, both teams shook hands after the game. “It was a high-intensity game with a huge crowd and a couple of kids got tangled up going for a loose ball. There was some pushing that ensued, but there were no punches thrown.
“Players in a very intense game, for the Catholic Conference championship, got tangled up going for a loose ball and in essence it got a little bit more active than it should have,’’ said Campea. “But it wasn’t as if two guys were there throwing haymakers at each other. That never happened.’’
Lost in all of this was the terrific performance turned in by Catholic Memorial’s Dan Powers, who connected on five 3-pointers, on his way to a game-high 28 points.
Matt Droney, who was honored prior to the game for scoring his 1,000th point earlier this season, responded by scoring the first 8 points of the contest for the Knights (13-2). Droney finished with 23 points.
With the game tied at 54 with 5:45 remaining, the Knights went on a 20-3 run to close the game and reclaim the conference championship. With the win the Knights improved to 7-1 in the conference and 12-3 overall, while the Eagles dropped to 6-2 and 12-4 overall.
No. 1 Central Catholic stunned
