Postgame Basketball Brawl Eliminates 2 Teams From State Title Contention
A postgame basketball brawl has left two Georgia high school girls teams unable to continue on to the state tournament. After a Thursday night game on Feb. 19, players from both Beach and Savannah high schools engaged in a fight.
Beach, the Class 3A runner-up in the 2020 season and 2017 champion, won the game by a score of 50-35 in the Region 3-3A tournament semifinals.
While it is unclear exactly what caused the postgame scuffle, the consequences for both teams were severe.
The GHSA fined both schools and placed each on warning status. However, the decision about whether to allow the teams to compete in the state tournament was left up to the school district.
Ultimately, both teams were told they would not be competing for a state title. Dr. Ann Levett, superintendent of Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, confirmed that according to the GHSA’s rules regarding fighting, neither team would have enough players to compete in the next two games.
Levett released a statement to the Savannah Morning News that “the incident Thursday evening was inappropriate and does not represent the high standards the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System expects its student-athletes to uphold.”
Levett continued: “Unfortunately, these students violated the rules set by the Georgia High School Association and the expectations set by the school district for sportsmanship. The disappointment is compounded by the amount of effort it took to even allow teams to play this year during the pandemic.”
Concerned parents of Beach’s student-athletes, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the punishment of the entire team was too harsh. According to them, the team was defending a teammate.
Although Beach advanced to the region tournament title game, they were made to forfeit. Johnson High School of Savannah was declared the champion.
Beach’s 18-season run of reaching the state tournament has come to an end. It is one of the longest streaks in the state of Georgia.
Their record ends at 11-3 overall and 6-0 in region play. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 9 in Class 3A.
Savannah’s record comes to a close at 7-9 overall and 4-4 in the region. The Blue Jackets would have qualified for either a No.3 or No.4 seed in the state tournament this year.
The region’s No. 1 seed is Johnson, while Liberty County overtook Beach for the No. 2 seed. According to WJCL in Savannah, Southeast Bulloch was awarded the No. 3 seed. The remaining region playoff berth seed was left vacant.
The 2021 GHSA Class 3A state tournament began on Feb. 23.
Written by: Reagan Cofield
