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MSU trustee assaulted referee after technical fouls led to loss, prosecutor says

JACKSON, MI - Mitch Lyons was furious when he shoved a referee after a series of "bad calls" led to the narrow defeat of his middle school girls' basketball team five months ago, prosecutors say.

For what allegedly happened, Lyons, a Michigan State University trustee, is now on trial in Jackson County District Court facing one misdemeanor count of assault and battery.

The prosecution and Lyons' attorney agreed to a bench trail, which began Friday, May 4. District Judge Michael Klaeren will decide the verdict.

The case stems from an incident at a December 2017 middle school girls' basketball tournament at Grass Lake Middle School.