Ugly Incident Unfolds At End Of Pennsylvania High School Basketball Game

WPIAL 2A final turns nasty as tensions boil over after Sewickley Academy’s win.

Jeannette's Xavier Odorisio-Farrow attempts to prevent Sewickley Academy's Lucas Grimsley from getting to the rim Friday night at the WPIAL Class 2A championship game at Petersen Events Center. / Josh Rizzo

The finals of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Class 2A game turned ugly when tensions boiled over between Sewickley Academy and Jeannette.

Sewickley Academy picked up a dominating 52-38 victory in the title game, securing its first WPIAL championship since 2018 from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

End Of Game Features Brawl, Punches Thrown Between Teams

Hate to see this. We have drama following the conclusion of WPIAL Class 2A championship between Sewickley Academy and Jeannette. pic.twitter.com/TuBtZnrUec

— Brad Everett (@BREAL412) February 27, 2026

But it was what unfolded in the handshake line that left all watching in awe.

Players from both sides had to be pulled apart by staff and local law enforcement who were on the scene. Once that happened, players from Jeannette were forced to separate themselves from one another, with one being pulled into what appeared to be a locker room by his teammates.

Punches were thrown during the incident. In the post-game press conference, Sewickley Academy head coach Mike Iuzzolino, a former NBA player and NCAA Division I assistant, called what happened after the buzzer sounded “silly.”

Winning Coach Declines To Discuss Incident, Other Team Calls Them Out

“We’re not going to talk about that,” Iuzzolino said (thanks to the Post-Gazette for the quotes). “The game is over. Let’s move on from it.”

Jeannette, though, had different ideas. Kymon’e Brown, a senior guard for the team, called into question the roster of Sewickley Academy, which features players from Senegal, Romania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“They can recruit and we can’t,” Brown said. “They got money. We don’t. That’s the difference. They can go out and recruit people from Africa. We can’t. We’re from Jeannette. True-hearted to Jeannette. We’re going to come back next time and we’re going to win.”

Both Teams Enter The PIAA Tournament, Could Meet Again

Sewickley Academy, who has now won six championships in school history, moved to 25-1 with the win. Adam Ikamba scored 14 points for the Panthers, who lost to Jeannette in the semifinals last winter.

Both teams enter the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament, as Sewickley Academy faces Saegertown and Jeannette meets Northern Cambria.