Corrected and updated Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
BHP further investigated the huddle incident and corrections, clarifications have been made

By ANDREW SKWARA
For Brentwood Home Page
It's only fitting that in a game this physical, a near-fight broke out at the end.

With Ravenwood on the verge of wrapping up a hard-fought 40-33 win over visiting Hillsboro in the boys game Friday night, a shoving match broke out in front of the Ravenwood sideline in the final minute. Ten technical fouls were given out – eight for players leaving the bench – and two police officers surrounded the scorers' table in order to calm down upset Hillsboro fans in what was a wild scene.

Ravenwood Coach Patrick Whitlock talks to his team during a timeout in the game with Hillsboro, which was marred by a shoving match in the final quarter. (Photo by Andrew Skwara for BHP)

It marred what was an impressive performance from Ravenwood (12-2, 1-0 11-AAA), which survived an off-shooting night and some early foul trouble to win the district-opener.

In the girls game, Hillsboro erased a two-point halftime deficit to come back and win, 33-24. The Lady Raptors fell to 9-5 on the season.

In the boys game, the Raptors led for all 32 minutes, but it was a close game with Hillsboro never trailing by double digits. In the fourth quarter, the Burros (8-8, 0-1) cut the deficit to three points on three separate occasions.

“We don't like to play games 40-33. That's not our style. But, I'm proud of how our kids gutted it out and kind of beat them at their own game,” Ravenwood coach Patrick Whitlock said. “It got tight there at the end, but we were able to answer the call. I'm very proud of our kids.”

Ravenwood was led by Joey Barnes' 14 points, and Devin Robinson finished with 13 points. The Raptors did nearly all their damage inside the paint or at the free throw line as they didn't make a single 3-pointer.

The pivotal sequence came with Hillsboro trailing 36-31 in the fourth quarter. The Raptors' defense forced a miss and Robinson hauled in a long pass and converted an easy layup. The Burros raced down the court on the ensuing possession and Barnes took a charge, giving the Raptors, who then led by eight, the ball back with 1:08 left.

After a foul call seconds later, Whitlock called his players over to the sideline in front of the Ravenwood bench for a quick talk.  Hillsboro guard Brian Wilson tried to stand in the middle of the huddle and Whitlock said he responded by putting "an armbar up to keep him out of our huddle and then he pushed me and one of our players pushed him." That's when players began racing from all directions and officials had to break up the melee.

Off-setting technicals were issued to Wilson and Ravenwood's Andy Moore, although Whitlock said Moore was not the player involved. Five Hillsboro players and three Ravenwood players were charged with technicals for leaving the bench, which gave the Raptors four free throws.

“(Wilson) got in our huddle and I didn't like that,” Whitlock said. “He pushed me and one player. I didn't see any of our players leave the bench.”

Whitlock said Saturday morning the officials reviewed film last night after the game and some kind of report will be filed with TSSAA.  Whitlock said his players didn't leave the bench, but the officials charged them for standing up.  Whitlock, who is also Ravenwood's athletic director, was not sure if there would be any repercussions because he "has never been in this situation before."

Whitlock chose to sit Barnes for most of the second quarter when the post player picked up his second foul, a move that paid off when Barnes was able to contribute down the stretch.

“I don't like a guy going into the second half with three fouls so I got him out early,” Whitlock said. “We were able to weather the storm without him, and he made some key plays in the fourth quarter.”

Barnes fueled a great start that got Ravenwood out to a 8-0 lead by scoring nine of his points in the first quarter.

Hillsboro answered with a 9-3 run that cut the score to 14-13, which is the closest the Burros ever got. Ravenwood took a 21-17 lead into the half and raised that advantage to 28-23 at the end of the third quarter.

Wilson and Antorian Moore each led the Burros with nine points apiece.

“We were aggressive early and went inside. That was our game plan. We are an inside-outside team,” Whitlock said. “We got off to a strong start. I'm happy about where we are. Now we have to get very focused on a good Centennial team.”

Ravenwood will face Centennial on Tuesday night.

Lady Raptors fall in second half against Hillsboro

The Lady Raptors took a 14-12 lead into the half, but the Lady Burros took over from there, going on a 21-10 run over the final two quarters.

Lexi McKay led Ravenwood with nine points and Jane Rice finished with eight. Erin Johnson and Brandi Devore had three apiece.