SCHSL looking into scuffle between Indian Land, McBee

By Barry Byers - bbyers@heraldonline.com

The fate of the Indian Land and McBee varsity boys basketball teams rests in the hands of the South Carolina High School League.

According to The Lancaster News, which had a correspondent at the game Tuesday night in Indian Land, an incident under the Warriors' basket early in the third quarter cleared both benches.

It was reported that Indian Land's Keyadd Miller was driving to the hoop for a breakaway basket and was fouled hard by a McBee player. The play resulted in a scuffle between the two players and players from both benches went onto the court, according to The Lancaster News.

Any player leaving the bench during a game is given an automatic one-game suspension. The game was halted with Indian Land holding a 40-28 lead.

"It was over quickly, but it's the job of both schools to investigate an incident like this and turn the findings over to the High School League," Indian Land athletics director Mike Mayer said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon while driving to the SCHSL office in Columbia. "I'm headed to the League office to turn over the video and to submit written statements from both schools.

"My principal, Kathy Faris, and I met with the McBee's principal and AD from 10 this morning until 12:30. We spent the better part of the morning taking statements from school district employees who were at the game."

Mayer said those were the only comments he would make until the ruling is handed down, likely today after lunch.

In addition to the one-game suspensions, possible punishments could be a fine, losing players for several games or for the rest of the season and banning each team from the playoffs in February.

The SCHSL rulebook states under unsportsmanlike conduct:

n An athlete who is ejected for using abusive language, flagrantly or maliciously contacting another person, making obscene gestures to opponents or spectators, shall be ineligible for a minimum of the next contest to the maximum of one year depending on the seriousness of the violation.

n Any athlete who leaves the bench area to become involved in a fracas will be disqualified from that game and will be subject to a minimum of a next game suspension depending on his or her involvement. A school whose athletes violate this bench policy will be subject to League discipline.

Roger Hazel, an associate commissioner for the League, said the information will be studied and a decision will be reached as soon as possible.

"The maximum penalty would be shutting down the programs involved for the season," Hazel said. "But it could be suspending players for a game or two, or suspending them for the rest of the season."