INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A local high school basketball coach is disappointed with the team his players will take on for a state title.

This Saturday, Guerin Catholic High School will face Griffith High School, a team that at one point had its season indefinitely suspended after a fight broke out during a game last month.

Guerin Head Coach Pete Smith said he has nothing against the Griffith players or the school, he’s just upset because their punishment didn’t stick.

A judge issued a temporary restraining order against the IHSAA earlier this month, allowing Griffith to get back on the court just in time for the playoffs.

It was a foul that ignited a fight. Players from Griffith and Hammond High School started throwing punches. Then coaches and even fans from the stands spilled onto the court.

“That’s not right, look, that’s just inexcusable,” said Robert Owens as he watched a video of the fight.

He played basketball at Cardinal Ritter High School but Tuesday afternoon – he was shooting hoops with friends at Watkins Park.

Many others in the gym played high school basketball and had mixed emotions about the brawl.

“It’s not tolerable, you can’t do that kind of stuff you know,” he said.

“When you are playing in a game it’s so serious,” explained Demonie Johnson, sophomore at Northwest High School.

“I feel like both coaches should have kept their players under control,” said Tyrie Johnson, junior at North Central High School.

But even coaches know keeping players in control in the heat of the moment isn’t always possible.

“Kids make mistakes and you learn from them,” said Smith. “But I’m not sure they learn when they get to be able to play after a brawl that happens like that without any more repercussions than just what happened.”

Smith said his team is prepared no matter the opponent. But when they’re game-planning against a team that at one point lost its season after a fight, he worries sportsmanship is being tossed aside.

“This was a chance I think to really make a good statement and unfortunately a court up in Lake County overturned it and now they’re playing again,” he said.

It might not be the outcome he wanted, but if the players at Watkins Park wore Griffith jerseys, they’d want that shot to win it all.

“By both teams it was bad sportsmanship but I mean everybody deserves a second chance,” said Tyrie Johnson.

“It’s special to and those seniors on that team,” said Owens. “They deserve to be walk out with a state championship or the possibility to.”

We tried reaching out to the athletic department at Griffith High School but the office were closed.  Guerin and Griffith will play for the 3A state title at Bankers Life Fieldhouse Saturday. Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – A judge has cleared the way for two high school basketball teams to join Indiana’s boys basketball state tournament despite a brawl that led to the cancellation of the teams’ remaining seasons.

The Indiana High School Athletics Association canceled Hammond and Griffith’s remaining boys basketball seasons and imposed other sanctions after the bench-clearing Feb. 7 brawl.

But both schools challenged that decision in court.

The (Munster) Times reports that a Lake County judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday that allows the schools’ basketball teams into this week’s Class 3A Hammond Sectional.

The sectional begins Thursday and the championship game will be played on Monday.

Students and administrators from both schools say they don’t condone the student-athletes’ actions but they are collectively sorry for the brawl.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The Indiana High School Athletic Association has redrawn one Class 3A sectional to include Griffith and Hammond following a ruling by a Lake County judge.

Both schools had their seasons canceled by the state’s high school governing body after a brawl Feb. 7. They’re now challenging the decision in court, and The (Munster) Times reports each team practiced Friday – the first time either had held practice since Feb. 6, the day before the game.

An injunction hearing is scheduled for Monday morning.

If the injunction is imposed, Griffith would face Lighthouse CPA on Thursday at 7 p.m. Hammond Gavit would face Gary Roosevelt on Friday at 6 p.m. and Bowman Academy would play Hammond on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Hammond Clark would get a bye into the second round.

GRIFFITH, Ind. (AP) – An Indiana High School Athletic Association review committee has upheld the season-ending sanctions for the Hammond and Griffith high school boys basketball teams following a bench-clearing brawl that ended a game between the two schools.

Attorney Mike Jasaitis, who represented Hammond High School in its appeal, tells The (Munster) Times (http://bit.ly/1ziLXUh ) the review panel on Thursday upheld the sanctions that canceled the schools’ remaining seasons after the Feb. 7 brawl, booting them from the state tourney that begins next Tuesday.

Representatives of the two schools appeared Feb. 20 before the review committee to ask for a modification of the sanctions.

The canceled seasons affected all varsity, junior varsity and freshmen boys basketball programs at the two schools. They also will be placed on probation for the 2015-16 season.

GRIFFITH, Ind. (AP) – Two northwestern Indiana high schools whose remaining basketball seasons were canceled following a brawl are awaiting a ruling on their appeals of that punishment.

Representatives of Griffith and Hammond’s high schools appeared Friday before the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s Review Committee, seeking a modification of sanctions the IHSAA imposed against their boys’ basketball programs.

The (Munster) Times reports the IHSAA has up to eight days to rule on the appeals.

A Feb. 7 brawl during Griffith High School’s home game against Hammond High School led to numerous sanctions against the schools.

IHSAA commissioner Bobby Cox told both schools Friday that if they were allowed back into the state tournament, the Class 3A Hammond Sectional tournament would be redrawn and that could take place as late as next Friday.

GRIFFITH, Ind. (AP) – One of two northwestern Indiana high schools whose remaining seasons were canceled following a brawl is appealing the sanctions levied by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

Griffith Public Schools Superintendent Peter Mokiris issued a statement Friday saying the district is appealing the sanctions that followed a Feb. 7 brawl during a home game with Hammond High School.

The brief statement says the sanctions are “both unprecedented and overly severe” and that the IHSAA should review the circumstances surrounding the brawl.

The IHSAA on Tuesday canceled the remaining schedules of both schools, barred them from the state tournament and placed them on probation for the 2015-16 season amid other sanctions. Morikis on Tuesday said the district supported the IHSAA decision.

IHSAA spokesman Jason Wille says the agency has received the appeal request, but a hearing hasn’t been scheduled.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A brawl between two Indiana high school basketball teams left parents and administrators shocked, but they were not surprised when they learned about the punishment each team would face.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association cancelled the rest of the season for the boys’ basketball teams at Griffin and Hammond High School. Last weekend, a hard foul led to a bench clearing brawl.

Bob Wonnell, the athletic director at Arlington High School in Indianapolis, said he’s seen fights like that before.

That’s why he feels it’ll take a team effort from the coaches, the players, fans and staff to keep things from getting out of control.

“It was bad, I mean I was surprised that it got so bad so quickly,” said Wonnell talking about the fight.

He saw the video, and wasn’t surprised to hear the IHSAA punished Griffith and Hammond High School by cancelling the rest of their seasons.

“It’s a very strict consequence but it’s a very well deserved consequence so I think the IHSAA is setting the right precedent in setting their foot down.”

One parent in the stands told 24-Hour News 8 they understand why their seasons were cancelled but felt it was unfair to punish all of the players if only some might have been at fault.

“If there were five kids that behaved in a way that warranted a season ending suspension, fine,” said Trey Oetjen. “But there were JV kids, there was freshman kids who could have come up, fulfilled those responsibilities. If they all 12 behaved that way, then the team deserves collective discipline.”

Oetjen not only saw video of the fight but said he witnessed one in person years ago at an AAU tournament.

“Another team went crazy and just started, incited an entire brawl. So I can tell you that my response because it was then was to get my kids out of the gym as fast as we could,” he said.

At Arlington, Wonnell said two police officers monitor all varsity and JV games. Administrators also sit by the doors and near the stands just in case people might rush the floor.

“Even when those things are in place, there is the capability or the possibility that things can go bad like it did the other night,” said Wonnell.

But prevention can go back even further. Wonnell said coaches undergo sportsmanship training before and during the season to make sure their players know how to keep a cool head with competition gets heated.

“That’s about the best we can do. Just try to prepare ahead and make sure that we have people in place,” said Wonnell.

Wonnell said starting next year, every coach will be mandated to take sportsmanship training. Besides getting their seasons cancelled – Hammon and Griffith high school have to pay a $500 forfeiture fee. Police said they’re reviewing the video to see if any charges should be filed.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The IHSAA canceled the rest of the season’s games for two boys basketball teams after a brawl in northwest Indiana.

The IHSAA announced Tuesday that Hammond and Griffith high schools won’t play the remainder of the 2014-15 season.

The game was called when Griffith was leading 4-0 in the first quarter. A brawl started when a Hammond player shoved a Griffith player. The shove emptied the benches of both teams, with coaches and players fighting. Police had to be called to bring order to the gym.

See the video from The Times (story continues below video).

In addition to the forfeiture, IHSAA outlined other consequences for the brawl.

Both teams must pay a $500 forfeiture fee to each school they were scheduled to play the rest of the year. Next month’s state tournament will be restructured, as well. It will be a five-team tournament.

Coaches involved in the game will be required to complete a course called Teaching and Modeling Behavior. All varsity athletes will be required to complete a course, as well. Theirs is called Sportsmanship.

For next school year, both teams will be on probation. As a result, any violation of rules next school year could result in the revocation of membership in the IHSAA.

GRIFFITH, Ind. (AP) – The Indiana High School Athletic Association and police are investigating a weekend brawl between Griffith and Hammond’s boys basketball teams.

Griffith’s Anthony Murphy was going in for a dunk during Saturday night’s game when Hammond’s Tim Echoles fouled him, sending Murphy head-first into a wall.

A brawl then erupted in Griffith High School’s gymnasium, prompting the IHSAA to call the game in the first quarter as Griffith was leading 4-0.

The Times captured this video: (Story continues below the video)

Griffith police are reviewing a video of the brawl to see if they can identify any adults coming onto the floor.

The (Munster) Times reports a junior varsity game preceding the Griffith-Hammond game was marked by trash-talking, pushing and shoving.

IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox calls the brawl “disappointing.” He plans to speak about it with the schools’ administrators.