Fan fight in front of bench delays VCU-St. Louis
ST. LOUIS — A fight between fans in the stands near the VCU bench caused a Rams’ Atlantic 10 Conference game with Saint Louis to be delayed about seven minutes with 1:10 remaining in regulation.
The Billikens led 69-63 when fans wrestling with each other stumbled across rows of seats and onto the floor.
“You don’t often see this in college basketball, but there is a heck of a brawl going on in the stands,” play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy said on the CBS Sports Network as the melee ensued. “The police officers and the security have come over and tried to help out almost immediately to slow it all down.”
Both teams huddled around their coaching staffs on the court as the brawl broke up, and the participants were led up the stairs from the section.
When the contest resumed, the Billikens were able to close it out. Gibson Jimerson scored 26 points as Saint Louis outlasted VCU 78-69.
Jimerson had five rebounds for the Billikens (13-8, 6-2). Kobe Johnson scored 19 points while going 6-of-10 from the floor, including 2-for-5 from 3-point range, and 5-for-6 from the free throw line and added six rebounds. Robbie Avila shot 3-of-5 from the field and 8-for-8 from the foul line to finish with 14 points.
Zeb Jackson led the Rams (16-5, 6-2) in scoring, finishing with 15 points and two steals. Phillip Russell added 15 points for VCU. Max Shulga also had 14 points. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Rams.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
