The finals of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Class 2A game turned ugly when tensions boiled over between Sewickley Academy and Jeannette.<\/p>\n
Sewickley Academy picked up a dominating 52-38 victory<\/a> in the title game, securing its first WPIAL championship since 2018 from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\nHate to see this. We have drama following the conclusion of WPIAL Class 2A championship between Sewickley Academy and Jeannette. pic.twitter.com\/TuBtZnrUec<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Brad Everett (@BREAL412) February 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nBut it was what unfolded in the handshake line that left all watching in awe.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201csilly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to talk about that,\u201d Iuzzolino said (thanks to the Post-Gazette<\/a> for the quotes). \u201cThe game is over. Let\u2019s move on from it.\u201d<\/p>\nJeannette, though, had different ideas. Kymon\u2019e 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can recruit and we can\u2019t,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThey got money. We don\u2019t. That\u2019s the difference. They can go out and recruit people from Africa. We can\u2019t. We\u2019re from Jeannette. True-hearted to Jeannette. We\u2019re going to come back next time and we\u2019re going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Both teams enter the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament, as Sewickley Academy faces Saegertown and Jeannette meets Northern Cambria.<\/p>\n