It’s 3 Against 2 in Basketball After Penalties

They called it basketball, but the final four minutes were more like hockey.

A bench-clearing brawl and subsequent penalties gave John A. Logan College of Carterville a kind of power-play advantage in the junior college game.

Logan started the final four minutes, down 86-75, with four players on the court; Mineral Area College of Flat River, Mo., had three. The rest of the starters and subs had been kicked out.

Each team lost another player before the final buzzer because of personal fouls, leaving a total of five players in the game.

“You have to start the game with two full teams but you don’t have to end it that way,” said P. D. Highsmith, director of Region 24 for the National Junior College Assn.

Logan used its one-man advantage to narrow the 11-point gap, but lost 104-101.

The brawl started when Ralph Hughley of Logan and Kevin Thurman of Mineral Area went for a rebound. Thurman accidentally knocked Hughley in the head, Mike Murphy, a radio broadcaster, said. Hughley threw the ball at Thurman and fists started flying.