Spectators fight after referees end Southampton-Wyandanch game early
Referees ended a boys basketball game between Southampton and Wyandanch in the final minute of play on Tuesday night after a Wyandanch player and assistant coach were ejected. A fight broke out among spectators soon after, officials said Thursday.
Southampton Village police released a statement on Friday that said it was conducting an investigation into the incident. The statement, signed by Sgt. Herman Lamison, who also is the Southampton boys basketball coach, said police arrived at the school’s gym and found Wyandanch players and their spectators involved in multiple fights with spectators from Southampton.
Police were called to the scene “due to the nature of the situation and for the safety of our students, staff and spectators,” according to a statement posted on the Southampton Union Free School District’s website.
Multiple injuries were reported, according to the police statement. The school said that none of the injuries were “major.”
The referees stopped the game because “they felt the situation was getting ugly,” according to Tom Combs, executive director of Section XI, which oversees Suffolk County high school sports.
Combs said the referees issued several technical fouls during the final minutes of what the Southampton district letter described as “a physical and highly intense game.” Southampton won the game, 80-74.
“Following the referee’s decision to end the game, several spectators from Wyandanch reacted negatively and initiated a fight,” Southampton’s statement said. “Our security personnel were on-site and were able to calm the situation within less than five minutes.”
Police said the incident lasted approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
Combs said he spoke with both schools’ athletic directors in the wake of the incident.
Wyandanch athletic director Dwight Singleton, who was at the game, said it was “just a very unfortunate incident and we have to do much better to avoid these incidents. It’s not a reflection on the community.” Wyandanch coach Barry Baker did not return a call seeking comment.
Southampton athletic director Darren Phillips, who Combs said also was at the game, declined to comment.
A video shared with News 12 Long Island of the game’s aftermath shows clashes near an exit to the gymnasium and in the hallway.
Jim Baumbach is an award-winning investigative reporter at Newsday, where he has worked since 1998. He spent two decades in the sports department, where he covered every professional team and league, including events such as the Super Bowl and World Series.
