Eight players from Texas A&M-Commerce and Incarnate Word were suspended by the Southland Conference on Wednesday following the brawl that took place between the two teams after the conclusion of their game on Monday.
After Texas A&M-Commerce won 76-72 in overtime, a brawl took place while the teams were in the handshake line. It wasn’t clear what started the fight, but several players on both sides got involved in the altercation that lasted for more than a minute, all while ESPN cameras caught it.
The conference said the players will be suspended for flagrant unsportsmanlike actions.
‘The Southland Conference Board of Directors has set clear expectations for sportsmanship and behavior of our student-athletes, coaches, and spectators during and after competitions. Unfortunately, these expectations were not met on Monday night, and the Southland Conference will not tolerate any unsportsmanlike behavior,’ commissioner Chris Grant said in a statement. ‘I would like to extend our appreciation to A&M-Commerce Athletics Director Jim Curry and UIW Athletics Director Richard Duran for their unwavering partnership and diligent resolution of this matter.’
Four players from each teams were suspended for various amount of games. The suspensions are:
Texas A&M-Commerce forward Jerome Brewer, Jr.: three games.
Texas A&M-Commerce guard Ant Abraham: three games.
Texas A&M-Commerce forward Kwo Agwa: three games.
Incarnate Word guard Elijah Davis: three games.
Incarnate Word guard Alex Anderson: two games.
Incarnate Word center Gabe Beny Til: two games.
Incarnate Word forward Marcus Glover: two games.
Texas A&M-Commerce guard Prince Davies: one game.
The suspensions will be in place immediately. Both teams are near the bottom of the conference standings, with Texas A&M-Commerce in eighth place at 10-17 with a 4-10 conference record, while Incarnate World is in ninth at 8-18 with a 3-10 conference record.