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College Basketball: Cincinnati, Xavier suspend brawlers

Cincinnati and Xavier each suspended four players Sunday for their parts in Saturday's bench-clearing brawl that forced referees to call the game with 9.4 seconds remaining and the No. 8 Musketeers ahead, 76-53.

Cincinnati and Xavier each suspended four players Sunday for their parts in Saturday's bench-clearing brawl that forced referees to call the game with 9.4 seconds remaining and the No. 8 Musketeers ahead, 76-53.

The Bearcats suspended three of their players for six games each, including forward Yancy Gates, who punched Xavier's Kenny Frease in the face, causing a nasty gash below his left eye, hit at least one other Xavier player during the fracas, and afterward said that the Musketeers have "a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room."

The Bearcats also gave Cheikh Mbodj and Octavius Ellis six-game suspensions. Ge'Lawn Guyn was suspended for one game.

Xavier suspended point guard Tu Holloway for one game, guard Mark Lyons for two, and Dez Wells and Landen Amos for four games each.

The brawl among crosstown rivals left both programs with a black eye, prompting apologies by both schools and their athletic directors.

It started in the closing seconds when Holloway talked to the Cincinnati bench. Cincinnati's Sean Kilpatrick had said during the week leading up to the game that Holloway wasn't good enough to start for the Bearcats.

Holloway wanted the last word, and started talking to coaches and players on the Cincinnati bench with the clock stopped at 9.4 seconds. Guyn was standing by Holloway and pushed him in the face. Wells responded by pushing down Guyn. Gates was holding the ball and threw it at Holloway's head, prompting both benches to clear.

As the fight wound down, Gates stood by the Cincinnati bench with fists raised in a boxing pose.

The suspensions will affect only one Big East game, the 5-3 Bearcats' league opener at Pittsburgh on Jan. 1.

Xavier's suspensions will extend through the Musketeers' appearance at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii over Christmas. The Musketeers (8-0) are off next week for finals, and resume next Sunday at home against Oral Roberts. The following three games are in Hawaii.

Kansas' Taylor surgery

Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor had surgery Sunday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and could be out up to three weeks. Taylor hurt the knee earlier in the week but played through the injury in the 13th-ranked Jayhawks' 78-67 victory Saturday over No. 2 Ohio State.

Kansas coach Bill Self said doctors told him the procedure went "as well as expected."

Taylor is the Jayhawks' leading returning scorer and is averaging 15.9 points and 4.7 assists. He had nine points and a career-high 13 assists against the Buckeyes.