Altercations stop Rogers-Scott game before finish

Fights erupt, pepper spray used during final minutes

Fans leave the gym after a fight in Scott High School during the Scott v. Rogers basketball game. Two girls in the front react to the spray that was set off in the gym.

The Blade/Amy E. Voigt
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Fans leave the gym after a fight in Scott High School during the Scott v. Rogers basketball game Friday.

The Rogers boys basketball team led Scott on Friday night by as much as 24 points and owned a 59-45 lead with just over a minute remaining when play was stopped as a result of an altercation between two females in the stands on the Scott side of the gym.

Police officers rushed into the stands at Scott High School and separated the two just before another altercation between two other females standing nearby broke out. A police officer proceeded to scatter the crowd by spraying pepper spray in the vicinity of the altercations.

Fans leave the gym after a fight in Scott High School during the Scott v. Rogers basketball game. Two girls in the front react to the spray that was set off in the gym.

Play never resumed as fans rushed to the exits, and the teams were led by their coaches into their locker rooms. Many in the crowd began coughing after being overcome by the spray.

"I just saw a couple of girls fighting, and I just took my team to the locker room because I didn't want to go through all of that," Rogers coach Earl Morris said, recalling what took place during the final moments.

Nonetheless, Rogers (12-6, 10-0 City League) left the floor with 1 minute, 39 seconds showing on the scoreboard.

Clemmye Owens paced the Rams with a team-high 15 points, while Keandre Gilmer and DeVonte Pratt scored 11 each.

Rogers broke the game wide open during the third quarter when it outscored the Bulldogs 22-8 and headed into the fourth quarter with a 53-29 cushion.

Pratt scored nine of his points during the third quarter, including a 3-pointer right before the buzzer sounded to end the quarter after intercepting a Scott pass and firing up a 22-footer.

"Our defense kept us going in the first half," Morris said. "Then in the second half we started to pick it up offensively and started playing better."

The Bulldogs (10-8, 6-4 CL) had a tough time with the Rams’ full-court pressure, particularly in the decisive third quarter.

Scott committed 11 turnovers in the third, and many of them led directly to easy Rogers buckets.

"We were flustered early and maybe we came out too hyped," Scott coach Chris Dames said. "We started throwing the ball away. We didn't execute stuff we'd been executing for the last month."

Bryson Collins paced the Bulldogs by scoring a game-high 17 points. Jermul Richardson provided 14 points for a Scott team that also had trouble competing with Rogers on the boards.

The Rams utilized their size advantage up front with 6-foot-4 Tribune Dailey (six points), 6-5 Alejandro Williams (four points), and 6-7 Fadil Robinson (two points) to dictate play early in the contest. Their work on the boards helped the Rams get out to an early advantage and lead 19-13 through the first quarter.

Rogers led 31-21 at halftime.

Contact Donald Emmons at: demmons@theblade.com, 419-724-6302 or on Twitter @DemmonsBlade.