From the New York Daily News:
Mayhem erupted outside Madison Square Garden last night after a fight during a PSAL championship match between rival Brooklyn teams stopped the game as cops made several arrests, police said. The crowd pouring out of the final between Boys & Girls and Lincoln high schools became so unruly that cops briefly shut down 42nd St., between Seventh and Eighth Aves., as they used mounted horses to funnel the mainly teenage throng toward subways. Several gunshots were fired on 34th St., near Eighth Ave., but no one was reported injured, cops said.
In all, police made 12 arrests for disorderly conduct, four in the arena and eight in the street. The first fight broke out in the stands during the third quarter after Lincoln’s star player hit three baskets to give the Railsplitters a decisive lead. Lincoln went on to a 77-to-50 victory.
CBS:
Once the melee started, the public address announcer inside the Garden could be heard saying: “What the (bleep) is wrong with y’all? Come on!”
The first image CBS 2 cameras captured was a girl slapping a boy. The boy then swung around and tried to punch her. Other boys jumped him and then the NYPD moved in. Another image showed a cop pulling a fan over a railing and then other cops joining in as they beat him with Billy clubs. The male, who was wearing a brown jacket, was pulled over the railing by school safety officers and appeared to not be resisting, but four officers are seen beating him. Two of the officers struck the boy several times with their batons.
The entire episode started on the court after a hard foul was called. Lincoln point guard Devon Petersen was then pushed by Boys & Girls’ Frederi Nixon. However, Petersen went after Boys & Girls’ Antonio Johnson, thinking he had shoved him. Referees separated the two players. However, the incident ignited several fights in the stands. As more and more NYPD officers started showing up, the huge brawl spilled out into the streets, and the violence continued. Police said shots were fired as the crowd moved from the Garden to Times Square, and then into a subway station, where cops and teens continued to clash. So, when all the dust settled from the fight, who won the game? Lincoln trounced Boys & Girls, 77-50.
Madison Square Garden banned the championships from its floor after a more serious 1964 riot. During that fight, whisky bottles and water balloons were thrown onto the court and several fights broke out in the stands. The championships were not allowed to resume at the arena until 1989.
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New York, New York, It’s a Helluva Town
You know the Bronx is up, but I’m Brooklyn Down!
