Atlantic 10 showdown between No. 18 Saint Louis, VCU ends with shoving, benches clearing

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — A showdown for first place in the Atlantic 10 between No. 18 St. Louis and VCU concluded with the benches clearing and multiple ejections on Friday night.

St. Louis won the game 88-75, but before the final horn, there was plenty of action.

Billikens star Robbie Avila was dribbling out the final seconds when VCU's Nyk Lewis stole the ball near half court and launched the ball toward the basket. Avila bumped into Lewis, who was knocked over onto a broadcasting table, and Barry Evans then shoved Avila in the back with both hands. Avila's teammate, Quentin Jones, shoved Evans in response.

“There were no punches thrown,” St. Louis coach Josh Schertz said. “It was a typical basketball fight, a lot of pushing and shoving and nobody did anything.”

Schertz joked that it was a typical basketball fight in which “everybody's trying to get held back so they don't do anything.” He said he didn't see anything that would be worthy of a suspension for either team.

The two coaches were preparing to shake hands when the benches cleared with 1.1 seconds left. With the victory, Saint Louis (25-2, 13-1 Atlantic 10) prevented VCU (21-7, 12-3) from taking over first place.

“I think there’s certainly a healthy intensity, as there should be at the top of the league, right? We've got a lot of respect for them. I think they have some respect for us, I assume,” Rams coach Phil Martelli Jr. said. “It’s two tough teams, two very competitive teams, two physical teams. Stuff like that, you wish it didn’t happen but, yeah, it’s an intense game. It’s an emotional game.”

Evans and Jones were assessed flagrant fouls and ejected. The officials also disqualified all of the players who left the bench during the confrontation, leaving just enough from each team to finish the game after Lewis shot three free throws.

“I'd seen their bench coming in. Everybody was coming in, so just we’re gonna have our teammates' back,” said Lazar Djokovic, who led VCU with 19 points. “No matter what happens, we’re gonna have their backs.”

In retrospect, Schertz said perhaps Avila should have just held the ball instead of dribbling it, but it's “frowned upon” to go for a steal in that situation with the game out of hand.

“There’s no ill intention between anybody,” Avila said. “It was just the emotions of the game, the competition.”

“It’ll get blown out of proportion, but at the end of day, I mean, it’s an emotional game you’re playing. You’re playing a rival,” Schertz said. “I don’t know if we’re a rival to them, but they're a rival to us. And so, you know, emotions run hot.”

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