The Toyota of Hopkinsville Holiday Hoops Classic started out calmly, but ended in chaos on Thursday night at Hopkinsville High School.
After two girls’ games were played with no problems, the night ended with a bench-clearing brawl in the boys’ contest, as Paducah Tilghman and Christian County players tangled all over the Tiger Gym floor. School officials and referees stopped the game and cleared the gym at the 2:08 mark of the fourth quarter and Paducah leading 67-60.
Both Christian County and Paducah Tilghman are expected to be punished for the fight, which involved nearly every player from both teams.
The Colonels are scheduled to play Saturday against South Warren in the Holiday Hoops Classic.
The fight marred a good game as the Colonels jumped out to an 18-6 first-quarter lead only to see the Tornado come back to take a 33-29 halftime lead.
The Colonels (0-5) struggled against the Paducah press and saw the Tornado eventually take an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter.
However, behind the play of Zion Acree and Zyon Wharton, the Colonels climbed back to within two at 62-60. Paducah (1-1) scored the next five points for a 67-60 lead.
After a hard foul on a Tornado player, Acree and Wharton both were knocked to the floor and the brawl began and escalated quickly.
Acree led the Colonels with 14 points, including 11 in the second half. NaDarien Rowe had 10 points for Christian County.
Paducah was led by Miles Woodfork, who scored 28 points. Owen Mikel added 11.
Score by Quarters:
Paducah Tilghman 11 22 23 11-67
Christian County 20 9 12 19- 60
Individual Scoring:
PTHS (1-1) – Campbell 3, Thompson 6, Woodfork 28, McClure 5, Purdimon 6, Wilkins 6, Mikel 11, Bush 2.
CCHS (0-5) – Acree 14, Wharton 9, Johnson 1, Bigbee 6, Williams 6, Bridges 4, Rowe 10, Jesse 2, Stevenson 8.
3-Point Goals: PTHS – Thompson, Wilkins, Mikel; CCHS – Acree 3, Bigbee 2, Rowe.
File Photo