A large portion of the players on the Cranston West and Smithfield boys basketball teams will be suspended for one game, and three players have been suspended for up to three games as a result of an on-court melee in the final minute of Tuesday night's at Cranston West.

In addition, two non-playing students have been charged by Cranston police with disorderly conduct. Other spectators may be also charged.

With 13 seconds remaining in the game and Smithfield leading, 49-40, a fight broke out between a Cranston West player and a Smithfield player as the two struggled for control of the ball. Before game officials could separate the two players involved in the fight, other players from both teams, along with fans, converged on the court.

Approximately 100 individuals - players, non-playing students and adults - were involved in the on-court melee. Cranston School Department event staff workers, along with the coaching staffs of both teams, were able to quell the major portion of the uprising in about five minutes. Several Cranston police officers called to the scene further stabilized the situation once they arrived.

There were no arrests at the scene and Cranston public schools athletic director Mike Traficante said there were no reported injuries. Although there were no arrests at the scene, Cranston police reviewed a videotape of the game and Tom Mezzanotte, executive director of the R.I. Interscholastic League, said it is his understanding that two non-playing students have been charged with disorderly conduct. He said andother spectators may be charged.

Cranston West officials also viewed the tape and have taken disciplinary action against some non-playing students who were identified as being involved in the melee.

Mezzanotte said that the non-playing students involved will be barred from attending future Interscholastic League events.

Once order was restored Tuesday night, the referees called the game with the 13 seconds still showing on the clock and declared Smithfield the winner. In their report to the League, the referees listed two players, one from Smithfield and one from Cranston West, who were ejected for fighting. Under League rules, a player ejected for fighting is automatically suspended for at least one game. After viewing the tape, however, League officials identified another Cranston West player who was involved in the initial fight. Those three players have now been suspended for up to three games. Under League policy, the players were not named.

In addition to the three players handed multi-game suspensions, all the bench players from both teams who rushed onto the court have been suspended for one game. The suspensions for all players were imposed immediately.

Only a combined total of seven players from the two teams who were in uniform Tuesday night did not receive any suspensions. Mezzanotte said those seven players were individuals playing in the game at the time the fight broke out, but who were identified as not being involved.

The suspensions means that both teams will need to use junior varsity players in their next games. Smithfield, which currently leads the Division I-North subdivision with an 8-2 record, is scheduled to play South Kingstown tonight at Smithfield. Cranston West, which is 1-10 in Interscholastic League play this season, was scheduled to play Mount Pleasant last night at Cranston West.