New Jersey powerhouse St. Patrick’s could be banned from the New Jersey state basketball tournament after five players were ejected from a Dec. 29 game in the Under Armour Holiday Classic in Torrey Pines, Ca.
NJ Advance Media was the first to report the news.
“Any varsity team accumulating three or more player or coach disqualifications for flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct prior to the start of a tournament will not be permitted to participate in same,” reads an NJSIAA byline quoted by NJ Advance Media.
NJ Advance Media spoke with NJSIAA Assistant Director Larry White, who confirmed St. Pat’s could miss the state tournament, which begins in March.
“They suspended the five players for two games,” White said. “Now I just have to contact them to say, and I’m pretty sure they probably are aware, that that means they would not be eligible for the state tournament, per our rules.”
“We’re hoping to meet with the NJSIAA and go from there,” St. Pat’s coach Chris Chavannes told SNY.tv by phone.
Chavannes also sent the following statement to SNY.tv: “The Patrick School has sent to the NJSIAA all pertinent information relative to what occurred in the game on December 29th in San Diego. The NJSIAA is in agreement with the actions we have taken. We will continue to cooperate with the NJSIAA. We are also aware of the responsibility to protect the welfare and privacy of our students.”
As NJ Advance Media pointed out, St. Pat’s was also banned from the state tournament in 2010 when former coach Kevin Boyle was deemed by the NJSIAA to have held out-of-season workouts.
In this latest incident, St. Pat’s junior point guard Bryce Aiken was fouled hard by a Redondo Union (CA) player and sent to the floor with 7.2 seconds left in game, as you can see in the above video at the 1:09:45 mark.
Two players from each team were given technical fouls and ejected from the game, and three St. Pat’s players were awarded technicals after their bench cleared.
St. Pat’s is one of the elite teams in New Jersey and in the Non-Public B bracket, which also includes Roselle Catholic, Trenton Catholic and St. Anthony, among others.
