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Safety check, Bryant University – NEC basketball victors
The two teams had been “chirping” at each other all night – that was the description of one attendee at the Bryant – Wagner basketball game last night – just before the near-melee at Bryant University’s Chace Center.
It was an important game for the Bryant Bulldogs and the Wagner Seahawks, from Staten Island, New York. The NEC victory went to for Bryant (70-43). Peter Kiss, the nation’s leading scorer at 24.7 points per game, finished with a game-high 34 points to lead the Bulldogs to victory.
It might have been one water bottle being thrown, hitting a member of the opposite team’s fans in the stands, or some say hitting a cheerleader, but soon water bottles were flying, fans came out onto the court, and officials tried to get control of a spiraling situation.
The decision was made to have the stands cleared, so the game could be finished. The popular “storming the court”, while it worked for Providence College at the Dunk, was not something Bryant officials wanted to see happen at the end of the game. However, soon the fans were allowed back in and the game was completed. But by that time Chace was fully equipped with law enforcement response from multiple cities – Smithfield, North Smithfield, Lincoln, both police and rescues.
Twitter was active reporting on individual actions seen:
“A Wagner players Dad punched 2 college girls. He meant to hit a Bryant boy fan, but got 2 girls”.
“Bad look for Little Rhody ? Kudos to Wagner coaches for handling that so well. No players got involved and team came back to finish the game.”
“Can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like this – Bryant game marred by fights in stands.”
“That’s a shame. What should be a night of celebration @BryantHoops has turned sour. “It’s just mayhem,” TV analyst and former @PCFriarsmbb coach Tim Welsh just said on the air. “Bryant won’t be able to celebrate what they’ve been working on for two years.”
“Just another night in the NEC: a brawl between Wagner and the fans, chairs and bottles flying all over the place, a coach in a jersey, mascots standing there cluelessly…”
“I had never heard of Bryant University before tonight. I really hope the NCAA steps in and removes them from the tournament. What a disgusting display.”
“It was kind of like the ‘Malice at the Palace’ back in the day, just in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Someone javelin-tossed a chair into the stands. It was a little hectic. Definitely feared for your safety a little bit,” said Rich Capece, a fan.
The Draft Kings website has a lengthy report: https://dknation.draftkings.com/2022/3/8/22968253/bryant-vs-wagner-fans-brawl-video-players-fight-northeast-conference-title-game-2022
The behavior is in contrast with that of Providence College’s Big East games just a week ago or so – considering the PC team wins – and losses, there were no incidents in a packed Dunk.
Here was the atmosphere the day before the game at Bryant:
The whole incident was broadcast live on ESPN2 – the College Basketball station. Suggestions on how to prevent incidents like this were nearly universal that the facility was too small to handle games of great importance and where rivalries are high, and pre-game “red flags” were evident. Moving the games to The Dunk in Providence was a popular suggestion.
RI State Police say one person, 20 years old, was arrested for obstruction of justice and other charges.
This is a developing story.