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Princeton boys' basketball team will be without two starters in the district final

Princeton boys' basketball team will be without two starters in the district final
Posted at 12:33 PM, Mar 03, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-06 14:23:59-05

Princeton All-American senior forward Darius Bazley and senior guard Dominic Pierce will have to sit out the next two tournament games after leaving the bench Friday night during the Vikings’ 79-45 win over Sycamore in a Division I boys’ basketball sectional final at Lakota West.

The National Federation of State High School Associations has a nationwide high school basketball rule that requires an automatic ejection when players or personnel leave the bench and step onto the floor "during a fight or when a fight may occur." In other words, a player can't leave the bench area for any reason. It is an automatic disqualification. 

Princeton (22-3), ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press Division I state poll, plays Lakota East (16-8) in a district final March 10 at University of Dayton Arena. The game time will be announced Sunday.

If the Vikings win March 10, they would advance to the regional semifinal at Cintas Center. Princeton would play the winner of Huber Heights Wayne versus today’s sectional final winner of Oak Hills and St. Xavier in the regional semifinal at Cintas Center.

Bazley, a McDonald’s All-American, and Pierce left the bench after a teammate took a hard foul in the fourth quarter Friday night.

Ohio High School Athletic Association rules stipulate an individual is suspended for all games until two games at the level of ejection (junior varsity, varsity etc.) are completed.

In this case, the next two games are the district final and regional semifinal.