Unfortunately a basketball game turned into something more Tuesday afternoon in Montgomery.

During the Carver-Montgomery-Valley game at the ACADome on the campus of Alabama State University a fight broke out after a foul was committed early in the fourth quarter.

The brawl that ensued made national news and neither team advanced to play Talladega in the AHSAA Class 5A Central Regional final. Talladega got a bye into the Final 48 and Carver and Valley will wait and see what punishment comes down from the AHSAA ranks.

This fight started so quickly it was hard to fathom a fight was happening. The foul occurred, the players started scuffling and before you knew it the stands were emptying onto the court.

I could not believe what was unfolding before my eyes as I waited to cover the Goshen-R.C. Hatch 2A girls’ regional semifinal.

The chaos that continued for about 45 minutes was astounding. Never before had I seen a fight of that magnitude. It was amazing to me that players would get that upset about a game and it was also befuddling to see spectators join in the fray.

I will have to give it to the Goshen faithful who held their ground when the stadium was being cleared. They knew that they had nothing to do with the chaos on the court and they were there to support their Lady Eagles in the Central Regional.

Good job fans for sticking with your team through this tough time. The Lady Eagles did not play how they would have liked, but this was a great show of support from the fan base.

There is no reason any game should ever escalate to full-on violence like Tuesday’s “Basketbrawl” as the Montgomery Advertiser called it.

Tempers may flare up on the court and you may not like what the other team is doing to you, but that is never a reason to starting throwing punches.

I really hope the Carver players and fans and the Valley players and fans will look back on this event and wish they could take it back.

When that sinks in I hope all involved in the fight feel sorry for what they did on the ACADome floor Feb. 17.

Matt Nascone is the sports editor for The Messenger. He can be reached at 670-6315 or online at matt.nascone@troymessenger.com.