The referee who was kicked and punched in the face repeatedly following a Georgia youth basketball game needed 30 stitches to stop the bleeding ... a tournament official tells TMZ Sports.
But, Kenneth Tarver -- the founder of KB Sports who helped put on the youth tourney in Lithonia over the weekend -- says, somehow, the guy is doing better now.
The terrifying incident was all captured on video on Sunday at the Love Of The Game event at the Stronghold Christian Church -- when several young players and other bystanders appeared to beat the hell out of a ref after a game had concluded.