Just seconds after a well-played, hard-fought semifinal battle between No. 7 Kalaheo and No. 5 Leilehua Tuesday night, cooler heads failed to prevail in an ugly scene at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium.

A near-melee in the stands between supporters of both teams — while the Mustangs and Mules were exchanging postgame handshakes, ironically enough — marred an otherwise exciting game on the court.

In all, the fracas involved more than a dozen people. Several police officers as well as administrators from the school and league levels had to join the fray to separate the parties.

It was a sad scene indeed and one that could have been completely avoided had adults acted like adults.

I don't typically take to this blog to write about such despicable behavior, but this was unlike any other instance.

Fortunately, it seemed that there were no major injuries although one victim in the mess was a young female fan who was seen holding an ice pack to the side of her head while being interviewed by police.

Allegedly, some parents from at least one of the teams were involved in one way or another and players from that team entered the stands. Credit should go to the coaches of that team, who were quick to pull their players out of the situation.

However, it was undoubtedly a black eye for the OIA, which has worked diligently to spread its message of "cheering with aloha."

Where was the aloha Tuesday night? What kind of example does this set for the 15-, 16- and 17-year olds on the court? How is a coach expected to emphasize the ideals of sportsmanship and integrity to the impressionable minds of these teenagers after a situation like this?

In his postgame comments, Leilehua coach Russ Fitzgerald noted how a technical foul on one of his players in the fourth quarter ended up working against his team.

"I think that it always does," Fitzgerald said. "Kids, in the heat of passion, get upset and sometimes they take things personal, but that's the difference between an adult and a teenager."

You think he was referring to more than on-the-court action? I sure think so.

"We're trying to teach them that whether you're in a bar, or in a classroom, or in a high school basketball game losing your composure always leads to something negative," Fitzgerald said.

The situation in the stands — for better or for worse — even made the tail end of OC16's live television broadcast of the game.

So why keep talking about it? Because it demands our attention. Because all parties should count their blessings that everyone was able to walk away from the situation … this time.

It's unfortunate because it really was a heck of a game.

Fitzgerald agreed: "The crowd incident aside, it's what you'd expect: two teams playing as well as they could all the way through."