A Virginia high school basketball game spiraled into chaos with less than two minutes left on the clock, turning a routine matchup into a frightening scene involving players, coaches, and spectators.
The incident unfolded Thursday night during a game between Craig County and Narrows, when tensions boiled over late in the fourth quarter. What began as a hard on-court collision quickly escalated into a fight between players, resulting in an ejection.
As officials tried to regain control, emotions spilled beyond the court. Coaches and parents became involved, and the situation rapidly deteriorated.
Craig County ultimately conceded the game, awarding Narrows a 69–43 victory.
Craig County High School, located in the small town of New Castle, Virginia — about 30 miles from Roanoke — serves just 261 students in grades 6 through 12. Narrows High School, located near the West Virginia border roughly 30 miles east of Blacksburg, is similarly sized, with around 290 students in grades 8 through 12.
Both programs compete at the Class 1 level, reserved for schools with enrollments under 475 students. With the outcome, Craig County’s Rockets fell to 4–8 on the season, while the Narrows Green Waves improved to 9–6.
The flashpoint came after a Craig County player collided with a Narrows player who had just set a screen. The Narrows player went down hard, and officials assessed a Flagrant 2 foul — an automatic ejection under the rules.
That was the breaking point for Rockets head coach Jimmy Fisher, who decided to pull his team from the floor immediately.
“We had a kid ejected for a flagrant 2, and it wasn’t,” Fisher told The Roanoke Times. “I just thought for the safety of the kids, we just needed to end this one. That’s why we walked off. It’s got nothing to do with points or any of that — it was just a safety thing.”
But the chaos didn’t end there.
Shortly after Craig County left the court, three spectators walked onto the floor and confronted the Narrows bench. Attempts to calm the situation backfired. What began as a verbal exchange quickly escalated into pushing, shoving, and then punches.
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Efforts to restrain one individual only intensified the violence, creating a dangerous scene that forced players and staff to scramble for safety. Eventually, Narrows players were able to retreat to their locker room mostly unharmed.
According to reports, warnings about possible police involvement helped bring the situation under control.
Craig County Public Schools later released a statement acknowledging the seriousness of the incident.
“We are aware of the serious incident that occurred during the boys’ high school basketball game against Narrows High School,” the district said. “Emotions escalated both on the court and in the stands, resulting in an altercation involving students and adults.”
The district said it is working with Narrows’ school system and local law enforcement to investigate what happened and determine appropriate consequences, emphasizing that maintaining a safe and respectful environment remains a top priority.
Narrows returned to action Friday night with a win. Craig County is not scheduled to play again until Tuesday.
It remains unclear whether additional disciplinary action will be taken against players or spectators. The player who was ejected is required to serve an automatic one-game suspension under league rules.