Watch a player gets punched in the face during an ugly fight on a college basketball court with the video of DeeJuan Pruitt and Rifen Miguel viral
A college basketball player was brutally struck in the face during a game on Thursday night and the ugly fight was caught and captured on video.
It happened in the Ford Center in Indiana, during the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament match between UT-Martin and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
DeeJuan Pruitt sucker punches Rifen Miguel flush in the face during college basketball game, fight video goes viral
UT Martin’s Rifen Miguel, a big man, looked to rush into the paint towards the end of the first half to grab a rebound, but instead, he collided with SIUE forward DeeJuan Pruitt.
Here is everything that happened that led up to DeeJuan Pruitt throwing one of the worst sucker punches that you'll ever see in SIU-Edwardsville vs. UT Martin. Hopefully Rifen Miguel is ok. pic.twitter.com/I0l4QfXSMi
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 3, 2023
Pruitt, seeing that Miguel didn’t appreciate the contact, raced to his face to show his disapproval of it.
Then, as Miguel moved back down the court, Pruitt caught him with a powerful right punch and rocked him in the jaw.
To diffuse the situation before it went out of control, the players, coaches, and officials intervened as Miguel turned to chase Pruitt.
During the altercation, Miguel was visibly shaken up and required assistance from his teammates to stand up.
Both people were finally removed from the competition while this was happening. In the end, Miguel won as UT Martin defeated SIUE, 81-75.
Three players, including DeeJuan Pruitt, were ejected from Thursday’s Ohio Valley Conference tournament game during the first half due to an altercation.
Erik Hall of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch saw that Miguel’s face was bleeding when he got up from the ground.
Pruitt scored three points in 14 minutes. Miguel scored seven points in under four minutes while playing as a replacement. The final eight minutes saw two points by Myers.
The fight opened with UT Martin leading 31–27. During a 9-4 run to conclude the first half, SIUE took the lead and widened it to 10 points in the second.
In the final 7:34 of regulation, the Skyhawks went on a 26-10 run to win and move on to the semifinals. A spot in the OVC championship game will be at stake when UT Martin plays Tennessee Tech on Friday.