Mississippi State players fight in stands

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HONOLULU -- Two players from Mississippi State's basketball team fought in the stands Thursday night between games at the Diamond Head Classic.

Sophomore forward Renardo Sidney and junior forward Elgin Bailey got into the altercation just a few minutes before tipoff of the consolation game between tournament host Hawaii and Utah at the Stan Sheriff Center. Punches were thrown in the fight, which lasted several minutes and was broken up by teammates.

AP Photo/Eugene TannerMississippi State teammates Renardo Sidney, far left, and Elgin Bailey, far right, fought in the stands Thursday night.

Sidney was seen being escorted away by arena ushers and Honolulu police, who said later that nobody was arrested.

Bailey, meanwhile, was sent back to the team hotel, according to ESPN college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb.

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury refused comment until he "finds out all the facts." He later told Gottlieb that he had "nothing new to report."

"It's disappointing. Still gathering information, but it's not how we want our school represented," MSU athletic director Scott Stricklin texted The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss.

Sidney scored 19 points in the Bulldogs' 69-52 win over San Diego earlier Thursday while Bailey had two points.

Sidney, a highly touted McDonald's All-American out of Fairfax (Los Angeles) High, sat out all of last season while awaiting clearance from the NCAA. He has appeared in just two games this season and scored 31 points with nine rebounds. Just this week, he was suspended by Stansbury for "conduct detrimental to the team" and was benched for the first-round loss to Washington State on Wednesday.

Bailey has started 10 of the 11 games this season, and is averaging 6.2 points and 3.9 rebounds.

Mississippi State will play Hawaii, which beat Utah 68-55 on Thursday night, in the tournament's fifth-place game at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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