By Mark Giannotto; WASHINGTON POST

The bad blood had been simmering beneath the surface for almost a year, ever since Theodore Roosevelt emerged as the biggest threat among the city’s public schools to H.D. Woodson’s historic undefeated season last winter.

On Monday night, when these boys’ basketball rivals met for the first time this season, those tensions nearly caused an ugly scene in Northeast Washington.

Though Woodson emerged with a convincing 83-58 victory over Roosevelt, the two teams almost came to blows in the opening minutes and the game had to be halted for nearly a half-hour.

The incident began with 1:22 remaining in the first quarter after a Roosevelt basket cut the Warriors’ lead to 21-14. As the teams ran back down the floor, two opposing players squared up with their fists raised as if preparing for a boxing match in front of the Roosevelt bench.

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