“While this incident was unfortunate, the Wildcat and Fighting Irish teams will continue to support each other and look forward to friendly competition in seasons to come.”
With less than a minute remaining in the third quarter, two Springfield players and a Catholic Central player dove after a ball, causing a scrum on the floor. Punches were thrown, and both benches cleared while fans and coaches also ran onto the court to help break up the fight.
After order was restored, the game was suspended as a precaution stemming from an unrelated incident involving adults in the parking lot at the high school. The Springfield Police Division was present at the game and responded to the scene.
Ohio High School Athletics Association spokesman Tim Stried said the organization is working with the schools and the game officials to determine if any further punishment is appropriate.
Any player ejected for fighting would be suspended for four games while leaving the bench area carries a two-game suspension for those who do not engage in a fight.
“We are working with the schools on when/how to handle the ejections so that they can still have games moving forward,” Stried said in an email Tuesday morning.
The Fighting Irish are 10-0 and scheduled to play host to Triad on Tuesday night while the 2-3 Wildcats are scheduled to play host to Centerville.
Stried indicated the hope is punishments will be finalized before those games.
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