Suspended Ridgeway-Bolivar TSSAA basketball tournament sectional to resume after fight
The suspended high school boys basketball sectional game between Ridgeway and Bolivar will resume Wednesday at 6 p.m., TSSAA announced.
"According to information received by TSSAA on Monday night, a fight broke out as players were warming up at halftime," TSSAA assistant executive director Matthew Gillespie said in an email on Tuesday morning. "After reviewing the footage of the incident, we have determined that the contest will be completed on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Ridgeway High School with the winner advancing to the BlueCross Basketball Championships next week in Murfreesboro."
Ridgeway was leading 35-17 at halftime of Monday night's game before an altercation caused the game to be suspended.
"Unfortunately, the game was stopped early due to an altercation on the sidelines," Memphis Shelby County Schools said in a statement Tuesday morning. "We’re hopeful that the game will be rescheduled, so our student-athletes will have the well-deserved opportunity to continue in the playoffs. We take this matter very seriously, and following district policies and state laws, there will be consequences and citations. For the sake of our dedicated student-athletes, let’s keep the action off the sidelines and on the court."
John Morris, a spokesperson for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, said in an email that there was a fight between two 18-year-old women and an 18-year-old man. The man "ran from the scene," while the women continued fighting after deputies tried to stop the fight, Morris said.
The deputies stopped the fight after they "administered chemical agent to both females," Morris said. The two women were arrested and issued misdemeanor citations for simple assault, Morris said.
TSSAA director Mark Reeves said in a letter sent to the schools that the fight involved a cheerleader and Ridgeway fans. No players on either team were involved, Reeves said. Ridgeway will be responsible for reimbursing Bolivar travel expenses and for "full game fees and mileage for officials that work the contest."
The game was one of 32 high school basketball sectionals across the state. It's the final playoff game until the TSSAA boys basketball state tournament, which is scheduled for March 13-16 at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: TSSAA basketball tournament: Ridgeway-Bolivar to resume after fight
