A close game between South Shore and Francis Lewis on Dec. 12 ended with a brawl involving players and fans from the bleachers, requiring both teams to be escorted from the gym by coaches and school safety officers.
Tempers flared after the visiting Patriots won the hard-fought game 71–70 by sinking two free throws with no time left on the clock after three quarters of superior play by the Vikings.
The South Shore girls’ basketball team outplayed Francis Lewis all night long, but failed to avenge last year’s loss to the Patriots in the Public School Athletic League Class AA city title game.
The Vikings took a 70–69 lead on a jumper by freshman Destiny Philoxy with 14.1 seconds on the clock. Francis Lewis had one final answer left. Patriots senior guard Cassidy Khan received a pass on the left wing with six seconds remaining. She drove towards the basket, was fouled with no time left on the clock and calmly made two free throws.
South Shore coach Anwar Gladden credited Francis Lewis with coming through better in the clutch.
“We didn’t close out possessions both offensively and defensively,” Gladden said. “We just kept them in the game. They’re a championship and veteran team and tonight they did what championship and veteran teams do.”
Things began to get heated with 26 seconds remaining in the game when Francis Lewis was at the free throw line. Brianna Fraser and Francis Lewis senior guard Chi La Bady exchanged some words and there was some pushing among the players.
The brawl broke out after the post game handshake, starting among the players, but then drawing spectators from the bleachers down onto the court, where some joined the fray while others tried to break it up. What set off the melee was unclear.
Afterwards, both teams had to be escorted out of the gymnasium separately by their coaches and school safety officers to avoid further incident.
“It was very unfortunate and I wished it wouldn’t have happened.” Gladden said.
South Shore won the basketball battle for the first three quarters. The first frame ended with a jumper and a foul at the buzzer by senior forward Fraser that gave South Shore all the momentum up to that point. The Maryland-bound forward scored 11 of her 17 points in the first quarter. The second and third frames were much of the same for South Shore. The Vikings had the momentum and ruled the glass all night long behind Fraser’s length and ability in the paint.
South Shore was up 52–46 heading into the fourth. The Patriots never stopped coming at South Shore, and went on a 10–4 run in the first three minutes of the quarter to tie the score at 56–56 with 5:00 left in the game. Francis Lewis’ junior guard Dominique Williams led all scorers with 19 points.
