GARY | Instead of writing about a tremendous high school basketball game, these words will hardly mention Wirt's 72-71 win over Lew Wallace on Friday night.
Instead, flying fists, hurling chairs, bloody faces and adults acting like children will be the focus of this report. And if I ever hear a Gary coach, athletic director or administrator complain about the suburban schools not playing them, I believe that I will puke.
What happened in the aftermath of this great Northwestern Conference thriller is utterly embarrassing and should not be tolerated. But something inside me tells me that it will be.
Wirt's Jay Johnson hit a seven-foot runner with seven seconds remaining to give the Troopers the lead. The Hornets brought the ball down, missed a shot, and the ball rolled out of bounds with 0.4 seconds remaining. Troopers' ball.
After a timeout, Wallace's Dabney Hicks stole the inbound pass and threw up a prayer that went in. The ball was in his hands when the buzzer sounded. The officials had the call correct.
Wallace coach Renaldo Thomas stormed the floor screaming that his team had been robbed. His players followed. Fans spilled onto the floor. Sadly, I saw one woman with "Security" on her shirt trying to stop a riot.
And why? Because of a basketball game? Because of a call? Perhaps Thomas should've kept his players on the bench and screamed at them for shooting 5-of-19 from the free throw line in the second half.
"They got mad because we won the game," Johnson said. "So they started a fight."
Who started what and who finished the other could not be ascertained from my chair. But I did see chairs flying at teenage boys and several bloody faces in the aftermath. And again, sadly, Wallace's three best players -- Damion McGee, Shawn Tarver and Branden Dawson, all likely D-I players, were in the middle of it throwing punches.
Thomas seemed to have little issue with what happened, which is sad.
"Yeah, our kids were in attack mode," Thomas said. "When someone pins you up against the corner you have to come back swinging. Our kid got hit in the mouth with a chair. What are we supposed to do?
"Nobody got hurt -- seriously."
Coach, are you serious? A full-out brawl erupted at the end of a great high school basketball game and because no one left in an ambulance it's OK?
Wirt coach Omar Vazquez was so pleased with the play of his team that he didn't seem too concerned with what happened. This, too, surprised me. It should shock just about everyone out there.
"That was five dollars well spent on a Friday night," Vazquez said. "I was lining up to shake hands and a scuffle broke out to my right. (Thomas) started coming after some of my kids. It is what it is. They were the aggressors."
Next Friday the two teams will play in the Gary Holiday Tournament's first round. If I were you I would stay home, which is sad.
This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at shanlon@nwitimes.com.
