The unbeaten Shorter Hawks Men’s Basketball team played their 2016-17 home opener Thursday night, hosting Fort Valley State at the Winthrop-King Centre in a game that took a terrible turn during the second half of play.
The game was called with 9:02 to play in the second after Shorter’s Alijah Bennett was taken out by a Wildcats player on a fast break dunk, landing with the full weight of his body directly onto his head.
Bennett, junior guard from Long Island, New York is a transfer from Kennesaw State, and had played in nearly 30 games for the Hawks before Thursday’s game.
According to Shorter Hawks announcer Kevin Karel, Bennett was removed from the arena on a stretcher, but was apparently moving his extremities.
A series of fights broke out after the play, resulting in officials calling the game at the 9:02 mark, and awarding the undefeated Hawks the victory. Shorter moves to 3-0 on the season with the win.
There has been no official update from Shorter University Athletics as to the condition of the injured Alijah Bennett. Check back for updates.
