One arrested at Gwinnett Center following fight at state basketball tournament

DULUTH, Ga. - Gwinnett County police arrested a male juvenile and ejected several other fans following Stephenson High&#39;s 69-62 victory over Collins Hill in the Class AAAAA girls championship game Friday night.<br> <br> According to Gwinnett Police Major Dan L. Bruno, the juvenile, whose name was not released, was charged with underage intoxication at 9:30 p.m. An earlier incident, which took place at 8 p.m. between members of the Butler and Mays boys basketball teams, led to 10 additional officers being called to the Arena at Gwinnett Center.<br> <br> Bruno reported no arrests being made or injuries taking place in the first incident, which occurred after Mays&#39; 59-53 victory in the Class AAAA championship. Bruno, who oversaw a unit of 10 officers, indicated that approximately 12 players and supporters from Mays, an Atlanta school, and Butler, an Augusta school, began insulting each other as they stood in the concourse and prepared to leave the building.<br> <br> ``We stopped that fight and moved them outside,&#39;&#39; Bruno said. ``Unfortunately, they kept trying to go at each other in the parking lot and we broke up several small fights, but the majority of the players were not involved in it. We just helped them get on their buses and leave the facility.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Bruno added that one Gwinnett officer pointed a shotgun in the parking lot, but he insisted the weapon, which was not fired, was loaded only with small beanbags used to disperse unruly crowds.<br> <br> Georgia High School Association executive director Ralph Swearngin, whose organization sanctioned the tournaments, hoped the incidents wouldn&#39;t overshadow the athletics.<br> <br> ``We had plenty of security, we thought,&#39;&#39; Swearngin said. ``When you get this many people this day and age this is unusual, and we hate it. We&#39;ll be analyzing it to see if there&#39;s any better way to get things done.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Swearngin stated that the GHSA does not allow fans on the floor at such events. The arena, which opened last year, was hosting its first GHSA event.<br> <br> ``This was the first time that I&#39;ve ever seen anything like this,&#39;&#39; Swearngin said. ``I don&#39;t care if you&#39;re a student or you&#39;re an adult. If you&#39;re involved in an assault, you&#39;ve got to pay a price for it.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The unruly teenager watched the Stepheson-Collins Hill game from the first row an end zone near the Stephenson bench. With his upper body and face painted blue and white in an apparent support of the Jaguars, he ran onto the basketball court and circled the floor as GHSA officials began handing out team trophies.<br> <br> Two police officers pursued the juvenile, who jumped back into the end zone stands and continued celebrating and taunting nearby fans from Tift County, a Class AAAAA school that waited for its boys team to play South Gwinnett. Within the next 10 seconds, six police officers and 10 security guards unaffiliated with law enforcement, spread through the end zone breaking up fights among Stephenson and Tift fans.<br> <br> Bruno didn&#39;t think his police would file further charges because officers saw no other evidence of alcohol or drug use during the games.<br> <br> Jaguars coach Dennis Watkins saw the juvenile but didn&#39;t recognize him as a student at Stephenson.<br> <br> ``We were too busy watching our players and making sure we acknowledged their achievement,&#39;&#39; Watkins said. ``But to answer your question, 99.9 percent of our fans are great and only come to show support for our team.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)