Texas High School Basketball Player DeVonte Mumphrey Dies During Game

A student at Alto High School, Texas, has died after collapsing during a basketball game.

Devonte Mumphrey collapsed during the second quarter of a game against Mount Enterprise on Tuesday.

Attempts were made to revive Mumphrey at the scene but were unsuccessful. It is not yet clear why Mumphrey collapsed.

As well as his prowess as a basketball player, Mumphrey was also a talented football player and a member of the Yellowjackets. He had won multiple post-season accolades, according to a report by the Jacksonville Progress.

The Alto Independent School District released a statement to its Facebook page on Tuesday night regarding the incident.

Without giving further details, the statement noted that those impacted by the incident will be given support and it asked for the community to be in people's prayers.

"Alto ISD experienced the tragic loss of a student-athlete during tonight's home basketball game," the school district said in a statement.

"Out of respect for the family and in light of student privacy obligations, the district cannot provide details at this time.

"During the coming days and weeks, we will provide our students, staff, and community the support needed to process this tragedy.

"Grief counselors and local pastors will be on-site in the cafeteria starting at 7:15 a.m., tomorrow morning.

"All of ISD sends its deepest condolences to the student's family. Please keep our community in your prayers."

Newsweek has contacted Alto High School for comment.

This is the second time the Alto community has seen the death of a player during a high-school game in the last seven years.

In October 2015, Cam'ron Mattews died during a football game after collapsing on the sideline.

A year on from his death, in 2016, his father, Ronnie Matthews spoke of the difficulties of living without a son to KENS5.

"It's still hard because going on a year without our son is something we never thought we'd make it through," Ronnie Matthews said.

"We've been trying our best to hold up and stay strong."

He also praised his son's nature and competitive attitude when it came to football.

"He was a true competitor, he loved to compete. He's got a fathead in his room of Cam Newton, he really loved him as a player.

"Goodness was already in [Cam'ron] from when he was a little boy."

Cam'ron Matthews had signed up to be an organ donor and, after his death, he was able to save six lives, including that of his own grandfather.

"To meet everybody and to see just how thankful they are, it's really touching to us," Ronnie Matthews said.

Basketball
Stock image of a basketball on a court. Alto High School confirmed that a high school basketball player died during a game. Getty Images

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About the writer


Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more

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