DeeJuan Pruitt Among 3 Players Ejected as Video Shows Punches Thrown in OVC Game

DeeJuan Pruitt was among three players ejected in the first half of Thursday's Ohio Valley Conference tournament game after a fight broke out between SIU-Edwardsville and the University of Tennessee at Martin.

The incident began when UT Martin's Rifen Miguel was leaning into SIUE's DeeJuan Pruitt when UTM was bringing the ball up the court. Pruitt punched Miguel in the face, prompting Jalen Myers to step in and defend his teammate.

Officials and players for both teams were able to deescalate the situation before it went on further. Miguel, Myers and Pruitt were all ejected from the game after a lengthy delay while officials went over the replay.

Erik Hall of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted Miguel's face was bleeding as he was walking off the court.

Pruitt scored three points in 14 minutes. Miguel had seven points in just four minutes off the bench. Myers finished with two points in eight minutes.

UT Martin held a 31-27 lead when the fight broke out. SIUE closed out the first half on a 9-4 run to take the lead and went up by as many as 10 points in the second half.

The Skyhawks closed the game on a 26-10 run over the final 7:34 in regulation to get the win and advance to the semifinals. UT Martin will take on Tennessee Tech on Friday with a berth in the OVC championship game on the line.