Two Buffalo brothers who suffered concussions in an attack after a championship high school basketball game at Buffalo State College say they are the victims of a hate crime.

Buffalo State police, however, say that while their investigation is continuing, no evidence supports the claim that the brothers and their companions were attacked Saturday by a group of young white fans from Clarence because they are black.

The altercation followed Jamestown High School’s 73-52 victory over Clarence in the Section VI Class AA championship game in the Buffalo State Sports Arena.

Officials of the Clarence Central School District say they also were investigating and would take appropriate action.

But Eric and Aaron Martin say authorities were not present when racial epithets were uttered before they and three companions were attacked at about 9:50 p. m. in the college parking lot along Grant Street.

“As we were exiting the game, they started harassing us, calling us all these names. There were about 15 of them, and they were surrounding my car, more and more of them started pouring out,” Eric Martin, 20, said Monday.

“One of them kicked my car. Then my cousin got out of the back seat and tried to reason with them saying, ‘We’re just trying to leave. Could you move out of our way.’ Someone ran by and hit him in the back of the head, and it broke out into a big altercation.”

Martin said that, as he tried to assist his cousin — Joshua Thomas, 18, of Buffalo — someone struck him on the head with an object and he collapsed. When he came to, he said, he was in the emergency room at Erie County Medical Center.

Aaron Martin, 17, says he believes the Clarence fans mistook them for supporters of the Jamestown team.

“I figure they think we were from Jamestown. The fans from Jamestown were [racially diverse], and as we were walking out, they were trying to provoke us,” the younger Martin brother said. Police, he added, had yet to arrive, and “there was nobody around from the law.”

Aaron Martin said he, his brother and their companions had gone to the arena to watch an earlier game between Williamsville South and McKinley high schools, then decided to stay for the game between Jamestown and Clarence.

Like his brother, Aaron Martin was hit on the head and suffered a concussion, according to his mother, Tracy Martin, and their grandfather, Leon H. Martin Jr., who rushed to the hospital Saturday night.

The brothers were released from the hospital at about 6:30 a. m. Sunday and are home recuperating.

Deputy Chief John A. Lombardo of the State University Police Department at Buffalo State said the college prides itself on maintaining a diverse setting and would not ignore investigating a possible hate or bias crime.

“I have no information that indicates that this was a racial incident. This was from all available information simply a disagreement that unfortunately went bad between Clarence students and what they thought were Jamestown students,” Lombardo said. “From what I understand, it was simply disappointment in the way the game turned out.”

Lombardo noted that Buffalo State often rents the arena to off-campus organizations. Most of the time, “everyone has a good time, and there are no incidents like this,” he said. “But when this happens, Buffalo State gets a negative portrait.”

Thomas G. Coseo, Clarence school superintendent, said parents had informed district officials that an exchange of words between the two groups of young people had escalated into violence.

“Apparently what happened were some words came out of the car and words came back from those walking by,” Coseo said, adding that campus police had questioned some Clarence students.

Coseo said he was not aware of claims that racial slurs were uttered against the young blacks but stressed that the situation was under review.

“I don’t know, but we will certainly investigate anything that was inappropriate and take action,” he said, lamenting the altercation. “This is the opposite of what sports should promote.”

He said he understood campus police responded promptly.

“I give them credit. They were there almost immediately and dispersed the crowd,” Coseo said.