Ugly Bench Clearing Brawl in Xavier Win Over Cincinnati

The ugly incident began a few days ago with a war of words on Twitter prior to the Saturday matinee game that ended in infamy. A pregame comment by Bearcats player Sean Kilpatrick, who when asked if Xavier standout and All American candidate Tu Holloway would start on Cincinnati, he replied, “”Would he, with the players we have now? I would say no.”

Guess Kilpatrick hasn’t checked the statsheet as Holloway again was marvelous notching 17 points and 6 assists to Kilpatrick’s 11 points in helping the Top 10 ranked Musketeers to another victory 76-53, to remain undefeated(8-0) to begin the season.

Despite some testy moments during the game which seemed to escalate as the game neared its end, and despite several attempts by Bearcats coach Mick Cronin to call a timeout to restore order, which the referees clearly ignored, tempers flared in the final seconds as Musketeers star Tu Holloway and Cincinnati guard Ge’Lawn Guyn got into a heated face-to-face argument in front of the Cincinnati bench.

Xavier freshman Dezmine Wells then came to the aid of the Musketeers star and shoved Guyn to the floor as the all out melee began with both benches emptying. There were arms swinging wildly in the fight, however the cameras distinctly caught an obvious sucker punch by Cincinnati’s 6’9 and 270lb Yancy Gates to 7-foot Xavier center Kenny Frease, who was later stomped relentlessly by a Bearcat player while on the hardwood. Xavier star guard Mark Lyons also was a key participant in the melee.

Check out Yancy Gates’ Sucker Punch:

But what may be more despicable than the brawl itself may be the postgame comments and irrational thoughts by Xavier players Lyons and Holloway as they described being a locker room of “gangsters and thugs” that “zipped up” the Bearcats at the game’s conclusion. Lyons also made several references to “this is what we do where we’re from” in defense of his team’s actions. It’s just sad, and let’s be honest, these flat out ignorant comments will undoubtedly add to the lengthy suspensions that will be handed down by the NCAA in the days following the incident. Why would Xavier coach Mack even allow his players to speak following the altercation? To set an example, hopefully the NCAA and the university should hand down a severe penalty to remind Mr. Lyons that the only reason he’s not back “where he’s from” is because he’s getting a free ride for playing basketball.

Check out Xavier’s Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons’ Comments:

Although he’s usually not one of my favorite coaches patrolling the sidelines, Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin’s status went way up in my book following his post-game comments as he seemed to be the only participant who gets it:

“If my players don’t act the right way, they will never play another game at Cincinnati,” Cronin said. “Right now I just told my guys I’m going to meet with my AD and my president and I’m going to decide who’s on the team going forward. That’s what the university of Cincinnati’s about. Period. I told them, the way I feel right now, I’ve never been this embarrassed. I’m hoping President Williams doesn’t ask me to resign after that.

“I made everybody take their jersey off and they will not put it on again until they have a full understanding of where they go to school, what the university stands for and how lucky they are to even be here let alone have a scholarship.”

The ugly incident overshadowed another clearly dominant performance by Xavier, one of the nation’s most underrated great teams and potential NCAA tournament contender. Hopefully both team’s actions won’t derail promising pro careers of Holloway and Gates as the NCAA may dole out historic punishments for their actions and will no doubt bring about rule changes concerning players leaving the bench during an altercation.

Update: Per Yahoo Sports, the University of Cincinnati suspended Yancy Gates, Cheikh Mbodj and Octavius Ellis six-games, with Ge’Lawn Guyn recieving a 1 game suspension.  Xavier suspended point guard Tu Holloway for one game, guard Mark Lyons for two games, and Dez Wells and Landen Amos for four games each.  The Bearcat players suspended 6 games will miss only 1 Big East contest, in the opener against Pittsburgh, in addition to tilts against Wright State, Radford, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Chicago State, and Oklahoma.