Not even March should be this mad.
A fight broke out during the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinal game between SIU-Edwardsville and UT Martin on Thursday night that led to three ejections.
With 4:13 left in the first half, SIU-Edwardsville forward DeeJuan Pruitt threw a punch that connected with the face of UT Martin’s Rifen Miguel.
Miguel appeared to be leaning into Pruitt as the two were going down the floor after an SIU-Edwardsville basket.
As the two reached mid-court, Pruitt reared back and threw the shot that led to a melee between the two teams.
Both the players were ejected, as was UT Martin’s Jalen Myers, who threw a retaliation punch at Pruitt that did not land.
UT Martin, the No. 3 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, would go on to win, 81-75.
“I think when you talk about an array of emotions — we talk about winning looks different every night,” Ryan Ridder, the head coach of UT Martin, said on the ESPN+ broadcast.
“If you had told me the last two hours would look like this, I wouldn’t have believed you. But at the end of the day, that’s a resilient group that found a way to come out shorthanded and get it done.”
Advertisement
Miguel, who was bleeding as he left the court, is a reserve player who averages four points and two rebounds per game.
Jordan Sears led UT Martin with 33 points and sealed the victory with a layup with 36 seconds remaining for the Skyhawks.
Sears also added five rebounds for the Skyhawks (19-13). Koby Jeffries scored 14 points while going 4 of 8 and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Desmond Williams recorded 11 points and was 3-of-5 shooting (3 for 4 from distance).
Damarco Minor finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, and six assists for the Cougars (19-14). Lamar Wright added 22 points and six rebounds for SIU-Edwardsville.
UT Martin will now face Tennessee Tech in the OVC semifinals.
It is unclear if any of the three suspended players will face additional punishment.
— With AP