Young student basketball fan postpones game after adorable run onto court: ‘I don’t know who that kid is’
Conference match between the Radford men’s basketball team and Gardner-Webb was briefly delayed Wednesday night when a young fan ran onto the field and had to be escorted out by one of the Highlanders.
With only a minute left in the second half and Radford leading by three, a young fan burst onto the field and started running around as the players and coaches looked on in confusion.
Radford Highlanders head coach Darris Nichols leads his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first half at Colonial Life Arena on December 22, 2024. (Jeff Blake/Imagn Images)
“And we have a kid on the floor,” said the broadcasters of the match in shock. “The sixth man is here on the floor. I don’t know whose child it is. Do we have parents?”
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The young fan continued to run around before Radford guard Truth Harris, a redshirt senior, jumped in and picked up the toddler before handing him off to courtside personnel.
The interference didn’t derail the Highlanders, who won the game 79-75 to improve to 3-1 in Big South Conference play and tie for first place in the standings with High Point and UNC Asheville.
The Big South released a statement after the game about the “pint-sized” suspension, adding that the child was safely reunited with his parents.
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“In an unprecedented moment of pint-sized excitement, a young ‘fan’ ran onto the court with one minute left in last night’s exciting Gardner-Webb vs. Radford basketball game,” the release said.
“The fan, estimated to be around three feet tall and barely eligible for kindergarten, showed impressive agility as he dodged staff and bewildered players. Thanks to the quick thinking of a Radford player (and an obviously ambitious babysitter), the situation was safely resolved when the child was taken from the field.”
Radford Highlanders guard Truth Harris (4) drives around South Carolina Gamecocks guard Morris Ugusuk (15) during the second half at Colonial Life Arena on Dec. 22, 2024. (Jeff Blake/Imagn Images)
Radford coach Darris Nichols joked after the game that he asked the officials not to penalize the team because of the young fan’s excitement.
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“It was a big part of the game,” he said, laughing. “When the kid ran onto the field, I just said to the referee, ‘Please, don’t technical for this.”
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