High school basketball team loans fans and cheerleaders to correction facility opponents: Report

Most high school basketball teams usually have plenty of fans cheering them on but, what happens when your opponent's whole student body is confined to detention? 

You loan them some of your own school pep is what you do.

That's what a Texas high school team did when they played the Gainesville Tornadoes — a school where the teenage players reside at a juvenile correction facility in nearby Gainesville and the students are only granted the rare perk of attending games if they exhibit "very good behavior." 

The Tornadoes typically have more players on the court than fans sitting in the stands.

Well, Vanguard College Prep in Waco, found out about their lack of support and surprised them with an act of kindness when they met on the court.

The Vanguard team — led by Hudson Bradley and Ben Martinson — asked half of their fans to cheer for the Tornadoes ahead of the match-up and even donated a team of cheerleaders to cheer on their opponents, according to cbsnews.com.

"No one likes playing in an empty gym," said Martinson.

"It doesn't seem right" to play a team with no fans, said Bradley about their opponents whose own parents rarely show up at games.

The Gainesville players had no idea what was happening beforehand. They were overwhelmed by the scene when they walked onto the court to find their own signs of school spirit, their own cheerleaders, even their own fan section. 

Half the crowd was assigned to cheer for Gainesville. But as the game went on, everybody started to cheer for the Gainesville facility.

And The Breakfast Club it's not.

Gainesville is a fenced, maximum security state school and the largest juvenile correctional facility in Texas. It houses almost 300 low-risk juvenile felony offenders.

And the act of kindness certainly had a huge effect on the young offenders. "Usually our fan base was close to zero," one Gainesville player said about the gesture. "When I'm an old man I'll still be thinking about this."

That's a loud enough cheer for Vanguard.

Two HS basketball teams' seasons cancelled after wild brawl (VIDEO)

The Indiana High School Athletic Association cancelled the seasons for two high schools following a wild brawl in a high school basketball game that saw fans storm the court and allegedly mix it up with the players during a first quarter melee.

On a fast-break, with 5:32 left to play in the quarter, Griffith's Anthony Murphy was chased down by Hammond's Tim Echoles who delivered a hard foul — while the junior guard was in the air — that sent Murphy flying into the padded wall behind the basket.

That’s when both benches emptied, fans spilled out from the stands and all hell broke loose.

IHSAA game officials called the game while Griffith police officers cleared the gym with Griffith holding a 4-0 lead. The IHSAA ruled that the result of the game is a double-forfeit. Along with canceling the rest of the season's games, both schools will pay opponents who were to host the games a $500 fee.

Consequently, the high school careers of 11 high school seniors from both teams are now over.

High school basketball brawl ends game in 1st quarter (VIDEO)

A hard foul during an Indiana high school basketball game set off a wild melee between players, coaches and fans before the game was officially ended — while it was still in the 1st quarter!

Griffith's Anthony Murphy was going in for a dunk when Hammond's Tim Echoles fouled him so hard he flew head-first into the wall on the side wall of the gym. Within seconds, both benches emptied and much of the crowd rushed onto the court, where players and fans were shoving and throwing punches, reported nwi.com.

Griffith was leading 4-0 with 5:32 left in the first quarter when the IHSAA officials called the game and the Griffith police cleared the gymnasium.

The head coaches from both teams are scheduled to meet with Indiana High School Athletic Association commissioner Bobby Cox regarding suspensions and more penalties. Griffith police obtained a copy of a video of the fight and were looking at it to see if they could identify any adults coming onto the floor.

Fans use wacky dance moves to distract free-throw shooter (VIDEO)

In an effort to distract an opposing free-throw shooter, these fans broke out their wackiest dance moves—underneath the basket. Dance moves like that make concentrating just a bit tougher even without the noise.

Cameron Crazies ... here we come.

Maybe these Northwestern fans can take some lessons.

California high school girls basketball team beats opponents, 161-2

In an obvious case of a good team meeting a not-as-good team, a high school girls basketball squad in Southern California beat their opponents, 161-2 — and it’s not even the record for the most points scored by a team in a game in the state’s history.

After Arroyo Valley High School of San Bernardino, Calif., beat non-league opponent, Bloomington, by 159 points, there was almost as much finger-pointing as points from the winning team, the San Bernardino Sun reported.

Arroyo Valley (14-1), which is about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, had already won games by 98, 81, 74, 73 and 67 points earlier this season.

And Bloomington (0-9) had already lost one game this season by 91 points.

“People shouldn’t feel sorry for my team. They should feel sorry for his team, which isn’t learning the game the right way,” Bloomington coach Dale Chung told The Sun.

Chung said Arroyo Valley played a full-court press for all of the first half, which ended with Bloomington trailing, 104-1. Arroyo Valley coach Michael Anderson called off the press after the first half but switched to a half-court trap for the third quarter before retreating in the fourth, which was played with a running clock.

“I didn’t play any starters in the second half,”  Anderson said. “I didn’t expect (Bloomington) to be that bad. I’m not trying to embarrass anybody. And I didn’t expect my bench to play that well. I had one (bench) player make 8 of 9 3s.”

Anderson said he didn’t post the lop-sided score to Maxpreps.com and didn’t report the game to media outlets. But a picture of the scoreboard with the final score was posted to the team’s Facebook page before the page was deleted Thursday night.

“The game just got away from me,” he said.

Five years ago, a coach in Texas was fired for not apologizing for a 100-0 win. He said his team played the way they were taught, with honor and integrity.

In hindsight, Anderson said he should have pulled his starters after the first quarter and “I wouldn’t play the game at all.”

He was reprimanded after the game.

"He’s a great X’s and O’s coach. Ethically? Not so much," said Chung.  "He knows what he did was wrong."

The 161 points is the second-most by a girls varsity team in California history, eclipsed only by the 179 points Riverside Poly scored against Riverside Norte Vista on Jan. 26, 1982. Cheryl Miller scored 105 points in the 179-15 win.

High school basketball team banned from tournament for wearing 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirts: Report

A California high school basketball tournament has become the latest center of controversy in the ongoing protests over police killings of unarmed black men after a team was banned from playing because of concerns its players would wear T-shirts printed with the words 'I Can't Breathe' during warmups.

According to 5KPIX, the athletic director for Mendocino High School was informed by his counterpart at Fort Bragg High School this week that neither the boys nor girls teams would be allowed to participate in the three-day tournament hosted by Fort Bragg High starting Monday, Mendocino Unified School District Superintendent Jason Morse said.

The boys were reinstated after all but one player agreed not to wear the shirts inspired by the last words of Eric Garner, the New York man who died after an officer put him in a chokehold, while on the Fort Bragg campus during the Vern Piver Holiday Classic tournament, said Morse. 

Too few girl players accepted the condition for the team to field a tournament squad, he said.

Principal Rebecca Walker issued a written statement Friday saying school administrators respected the Mendocino teams "for paying attention to what is going on in the world around them" and that the T-shirts were being prohibited as a security precaution.

"To protect the safety and well-being of all tournament participants it is necessary to ensure that all political statements and or protests are kept away from this tournament," wrote Walker, who said she was speaking on behalf of the athletic director and the Fort Bragg school superintendent. 

Mendocino varsity teams first wore the "I Can't Breathe" T-shirts before a game with Fort Bragg on December 16, according to the girls coach, Caedyn Feehan. 

The student bodies at the picturesque Northern California schools are 1 percent black and 50 percent white and 41 percent Hispanic at Fort Bragg, 75 percent white and 9 percent Hispanic at Mendocino, respectively.

High schooler slams face into backboard blocking shot (VIDEO)

A high school basketball player from powerhouse DeMatha Catholic (MD) High School had just a little too much hops blocking a shot — and has the bump on his head to prove it.

Sophomore D.J. Harvey soared above his opponent to get up and block his shot, but the 6'4" guard got so much air he went face-first into the backboard.

D.J. was okay but, ouch.

Capitol Hoops Play of the Day DJ Harvey Hits Head…: http://t.co/U4UpwGlTuY
— Darren S. Harvey (@dsharvey64) December 4, 2014

4-foot-1 player celebrates birthday by scoring for his high school basketball team (VIDEO)

Seth Kraft had a birthday to remember on Saturday when he starred in his Montana high school’s senior nights basketball game and even scored a basket to cap a victory over their local rivals.

Oh yeah. Kraft is a haircut over four-foot tall.

At 4ft 1in, Kraft wasn't a regular starter for the team, but his passion for the game led him to be the boys basketball student-manager and student-coach for the Laurel High School's varsity team for the past four years.

In appreciation of all his hard work and dedication to the team, coach Pat Hansen decided to play him in Saturday’s game against local Montana rivals Billings Senior — and he came up big.

Spud Webb has nothing on this guy.




Before the big game, Kraft lead his teammates onto the courtby breaking through a sign held by the cheerleaders with this message: "Seth, you never fall short of amazing us."

"I will steal the ball if I have the chance," Kraft boasted to the Billings Gazette before the game.

"I’m not going to take it easy on them. It’ll be great if I score, but it’s OK if I don’t. I’ll be successful tonight if I make an impact, even a small one."

And, after missing his first shot, Seth scored a bucket before his two-minutes of game time were forever etched on the scorecard.

Fans from both schools filled the gym with a loud ovation for Seth’s first — and only — career points as Laurel won 75-66.

Way to go Seth — and the players from both sides.

Virginia HS basketball player makes unbelievable behind-the-back shot (VIDEO)

You've probably seen a lot of unbelievable basketball buzzer-beaters over the years, but never a walk-off shot like this one — literally.

Here's senior guard Marvey'o Otey from William Byrd High School in Vinton, Va., making one of the most insane shots at any level of the game.

When one of his teammates grabbed a rebound and fired down the end of the court in an attempt to start a fast break, Otey sprinted down the other end to track it down. However, the pass sailed, with no chance of him being able to catch it in bound.

In this instance, he didn't have to.

After finally tracking the ball down, Otey was already in full sprint and had to chance to stop in time. Instead, before stepping out of bounds, he flung the ball behind his back to get it back into play — hopefully to a teammate — while Otey's momentum carried him off of the court, through the gym door into the hallway.

When the crowd erupted moments later, Otey wasn't sure what had happened.

“I was out there (in the hallway) and I heard everybody going crazy but I didn’t know it was for that reason,” Otey told the New York Daily News. “I didn’t know what was going on for a second.”

Hope he came back to take a bow.

HS player shatters backboard, anticipates making ESPN Top Ten (VIDEO)

Easton Bazzoli did a couple of epic things at the Roundball Classic at Geneva College (Pa.) in one grandstanding swoop last Saturday night.

First, the 6-foot-5 senior guard from Seneca Valley High School shattered the backboard with one minute left in the Class AAA vs. AAA all-star game — thus ending the game and earning him the honor as someone who has broken a back board with a slam dunk. Fair enough.

Second, and probably more importantly to him, was that it got the attention of ESPN.



Bazzoli's dunk took down the rim and shattered the backboard after taking a pass from a teammate. The high scoring game ended with AAAA beating AAA, 134-113, and Bazzoli excitedly tweeting that ESPN had contacted him about using the clip.

Just found out @montourhoops just got an email from asking if they could use the dunking video! Keep your eyes on espn the next couple days!
— Easton Bazzoli (@EastonBazz5) April 23, 2013

Bazzoli was one of the top guards in the WPIAL this past season and is headed to Cedarville University, an NCAA Division II team that was 22-9 this past season.

Little did they know they were getting an ESPN SportsCenter star too.

Amazing 3-point buzzer-beater sends Oregon high school into playoffs

An Oregon high school basketball player found one way to become the most popular kid in school by sending his team into the playoffs with an amazing last second game-winning shot.

West Salem junior guard Chris Fedler made the incredible shot against the Sprague Olympians just as the buzzer sounded setting off a giant celebration on the court.

The half-court heave was his only shot of the game.

Hundreds of screaming fans stormed the hardwood after the 68-67 win.  Afterwards, an emotional Fedler said," It's a great feeling."

Amazing tip-in at buzzer wins high school championship

An amazing overtime tip-in at the buzzer gave Chaparral High School a 69-67 victory over Arapahoe High School in the Colorado Boys Class 5-A High School Championship game over the weekend.

Senior Josh Adams' tip-in as time expired gave the Denver school its first state championship.

With the game tied at 67-67 in OT, Adams somehow managed to get his left hand (he's right-handed) on the errant ball and twist it into the basket after teammate Cory Calvert missed a long 3-point shot for the win.

Adams got the ball through the hoop just as the buzzer sounded and the crowd of over 10,000 at Coors Events Center erupted into cheers.

The 6-foot-1 Adams is headed to BYU, so maybe we'll see some more of his acrobatic baskets in the future.