Some members of the Varsity Basketball Team were involved in a little more than just a friendly competition on December 4th against Costa Mesa.

Right after halftime, Isaiah Barnes was shoved during play by an opponent. He then threw a punch at a player, instigating action by the other team as well as some SJHHS players on the sidelines.

“I was just frustrated,” said Barnes.

“It was a very unfortunate situation,” said Basketball Head Coach, Kelly Hambrick.

“Isaiah is not a violent player. He is mild mannered and well-respected by his teammates and peers. He just overreacted to the situation,” said Hambrick.

According to Nick Hernandez, five players, who were sitting on the bench, saw the action and jumped onto the court to support Barnes. Nerves were running high as the boys shoved each other and/or tried to break up the skirmish.

“They were just going out there to help the situation, not to cause more trouble,” said Hambrick

CIF official rules state that if a player on the bench enters the court, they will be disqualified for the current game as well as the following one. Therefore the five players on the bench–Nick Hernandez, Tristan Wade, Luke Holland, Milo Simpson, and Connor Shaw–were not allowed to play in the next game against La Quinta. The only player on the court who was also disqualified from play was Barnes.

Although the disqualifications were certainly a huge loss for the team, Barnes was grateful to his teammates regardless of the consequences.

“I really appreciated my teammates doing that for me,” Barnes said. Nick Hernandez felt the same way even though he paid the suspension penalty. “I felt good after I did it. And I would do it again, because, he’s my teammate,” said Hernandez.

Even though our boys lost the game against Costa Mesa by nine points, they defeated La Quinta 56-30 in the following game. If the players get in any more fights, they will not be able to play for the rest of the season.

They play tonight at 7:00 at home against San Clemente High School.