Rivalries are unavoidable in the world of sports, and are often seen as a good thing that helps define the sport. Federer vs. Nadal, the Red Sox vs. the Yankees, and in the case of high school basketball, the Anderson Indians vs. the Liberty Christian Lions, who recently faced each other on Nov. 30.

As the game progressed through the first half, things were looking good for the Indians, who were holding a good lead against the Lions. As the teams came back for the third quarter, everything took a turn when a referee made a call. As play was about to start again, both teams got in a shouting match with each other. Indians forward and guard Damien King spoke with AHS Student News about the situation. “We were just going back and forth with each other,” King said, “and so the opposing team just stumbled over into our huddle, and we just started chirping back and forth.” 

The first altercation ended up being resolved fairly quickly by the referees of the match, and play continued like normal. Once the game ended with the Indians proving victorious against the Lions with a score of 54 to 51, another altercation broke out as both teams made their way to the locker room. Indians guard Javon Warfield gave his point of view of the event. “I was just shaking hands after the game, and I was trying to walk back to the locker room,” said Warfield. “And then there was just a big old commotion over there.” 

Damien King also commented, “In my point of view, I think it was just a whole bunch of nothing. Like, we are just a bunch of kids trying to play a basketball game and, you know, somebody got in their feelings when they shouldn’t have over a game.”

When asked to comment about the situation, AHS Athletic Director Steve Schindler declined.