Things got tense and nearly ugly on Monday night during SWAC basketball action in a game between conference rivals, the Jackson State Tigers and Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions.
Jackson State won the game, prevailing 88-84 in double overtime. In the first overtime period, though, things got heated between the players and coaches on the Arkansas-Pine Bluff bench and some Tigers fans sitting right behind them.
The good news here is that nothing serious seemed to unfold. Things got far too out of hand but nothing appeared to be bad enough that anyone would get hurt. There are, however, some troubling things that emerged.
One, as the announcers detailed, there didn’t seem to be a police presence or even local security guards there. That situation could have calmed down a lot quicker if someone was there keeping the peace in an official role. Two, and perhaps even more troubling, some of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff coaches looked to be doing more to make things worse, not better. In fact, there are multiple moments in the video when a player is restraining one of his coaches, not the other way around.
The two teams will play again on March 2, this time with the Golden Lions hosting. Hopefully the situation then will be a lot calmer.
[PSC Highlights on Twitter, Photo Credit: Jackson State broadcast]
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