College basketball has seen its fair share of heated moments of technical fouls, intense matchups, and on-court scuffles. But, well, it’s not every day that the action comes from the stands. That’s exactly what happened during Tuesday night’s Atlantic 10 showdown between Saint Louis and VCU when a full-blown brawl in the crowd led to a long delay.

Saint Louis and VCU were locked in a tough conference battle at Chaifetz Arena, with the Rams trying to extend their six-game win streak. And while things were already getting intense on the court, the real chaos broke out behind the VCU bench.

It all went down with just over a minute left in the game. Max Shulga had just drained a three-pointer, cutting Saint Louis’ lead to 69-63. But before the teams could even settle back into play, whistles started blowing. Not for a foul, but because fists were flying in the stands. 

A fight had erupted a few rows up, and nobody seemed to know what sparked it but more than a dozen people were involved in it. Security and police officers rushed in almost immediately to break things up. As the commentator put it, “Police officers and security have come over to try to help out almost immediately to slow it down.”

After a few minutes of chaos, things finally settled, and play resumed. The Billikens pulled away in the final minutes to secure a nine-point win over VCU 78-69. Gibson Jimerson led the charge with 26 points and 5 rebounds.

With the win, Saint Louis improved to 13-8 on the season and 6-2 in conference play. And for the Rams’ their six-game win streak comes to an end and now puts them half a game behind George Mason in the conference standings.

George Mason, Saint Louis, & VCU remain top 3 in Atlantic 10 ahead of Mason’s big game

George Mason is still holding strong at the top of the Atlantic 10. They’ve been dominating in conference play, keeping their spot tied for first with a solid 6-1 record. VCU, after a bit of a slip-up against Saint Louis, had been cruising, having dismantled Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure before the loss. 

Saint Louis, on the other hand, had a decent win over La Salle but suffered a setback against George Washington. Still, the three teams—George Mason, VCU, and Saint Louis—are all firmly in the race, each with just one conference loss.

The rest of the conference is starting to shake out, with Duquesne and UMass showing some rise in recent weeks, despite their weaker non-conference schedules. On the flip side, a number of teams continue to struggle at the bottom, and Fordham is still looking for their first conference win this season. 

Now, George Mason has a tough matchup coming up as they host Loyola Chicago on Wednesday at EagleBank Arena.  The Patriots are on a five-game winning streak and are coming off a big win against St. Bonaventure.

Their record of 15-5, with a 6-1 conference record, has them tied for first in the A-10. Although they lost both of their ranked games this season against Duke and Marquette, the conference plays have been in good for them. 

For VCU and Saint Louis, this was their second meeting of the season, and with both teams likely making a push for the top spot, we may not see them face off again until the A-10 tournament in March. Considering the fan intensity, it’s probably a good thing they’d meet on a neutral court next.