2 SoCal Schools Meet Again For Basketball Game Weeks After Fight Among Fans

BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA.com) — Weeks after a disturbance erupted between fans of two Southland high school basketball teams, the schools faced off in Beverly Hills for another game.

The sold-out game between the boys' basketball teams from Beverly Hills and Santa Monica high schools got underway Tuesday evening.

The last time the schools played each other in Santa Monica, the rivalry spilled out to the parking lot.

Images from Jan. 23 captured punches, shoves and trash-taking between the schools' fans.

"My friend was in the parking lot when he got hit in the head and stomped on, I believe, by a lot of SaMo kids and he got a minor concussion," Sam Cohen, a Beverly Hills High School student, said.

On Tuesday night, police stepped up patrols at Beverly Hills High School and outside the gym. Uniformed officers also blanketed the stands.

"We have supplemented our normal deployment with extra officers and we're also being assisted by the city of Santa Monica Police Department to keep a watchful eye," Lt. Renato Moreno of the Beverly Hills Police Department said.

Since the incident, school officials have also been working together to try and prevent it from happening again.

"There's been several messages that have gone out from the principal of Santa Monica High School," Gail Pinsker of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School said. "I know that Beverly Hills High School is taking similar measures to remind students that we want good sportsmanship."

But on Tuesday night, despite their best efforts, two separate fights occurred. No arrests were made. Police said no one was seriously injured.