California

IE Girls' Basketball Coach Suspended After Huge Blowout Victory

The Arroyo Valley Hawks beat the Bloomington Bruins 161-2

A Southern California girls’ high school basketball team scored more than 150 points than their opponents last week, a historically lopsided win that led to the coach's suspension.

Arroyo Valley High School put away 161 points in their game against Bloomington High on Monday, Jan. 5.

It wasn't Bloomington's first blow-out loss this season -- in fact, they haven't scored more than 23 points in going 0-15 this year -- but they only managed two points in the game, scored in the third quarter, according to MaxPreps.com.

The 161-2 score is the most lopsided girls’ basketball tally in Southern California history, according to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

Arroyo coach Michael Anderson was suspended for two games this week, team parents said. He missed a game Wednesday that the Arroyo Hawks still won handily, 80-19, and will sit out another Friday, while his son coaches the team.

The school didn't say if it had supended Anderson, saying it doesn't comment on personnel issues. Anderson didn't return numberous phone calls.

"People shouldn't feel sorry for my team. They should feel sorry for his team, which isn't learning the game the right way," Bloomington coach Dale Chung told the San Bernardino Sun.

But Arroyo parent Martha Godinez called the suspension outrageous and unfair.

"Our team is good and we can't help (that) our team's good," Godinez said.

The scoreline grew to a sporting scandal, with pundits across the web, and near the schools, weighing in whether the game was unsportsmanlike.

"It's too embarrasing for the school," said Riverside resident Jesus Espinoza.

Administrators at Arroyo Valley have reached out to their counterparts at Bloomington to start "rebuilding and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship," said the San Bernardino City Unified School District in a statement that noted action could still be taken if necessary.

"We want to use that game as a teachable moment for the rest of our athletes...throughout the school district to understand to play with really great sportsmanship," superintendent Maria Garcia said.

Contact Us