In the first quarter of a game between Liberty and New Mexico State, things escalated quickly between two bench players who had just checked in. New Mexico State’s Robert Carpenter and Liberty’s Shiloh Robinson clashed after a series of physical plays in the paint. It started with standard contact, but after a routine screen and some tight rebounding action, tensions boiled over. Carpenter threw a clean punch to Robinson’s face, dropping him to the floor. Robinson stayed down, clearly hurt, clutching his eye.
The sequence leading up to the punch showed a buildup of physical contact. Carpenter got tangled up after Robinson appeared to push his head down while jockeying for position. As Robinson turned to run upcourt, he threw a subtle shoulder into Carpenter. That was enough to trigger the punch. It wasn’t a scuffle—it was a single, intentional hit. The officials called a technical and ejected Carpenter on the spot. New Mexico State later suspended him indefinitely.
The incident stood out because both players had barely seen any game time before it happened. Liberty’s coach was furious. New Mexico State’s bench looked stunned. It was a rare scene of a player reacting violently almost immediately, seemingly out of pure instinct.