CINCINNATI -- An Ohio prosecutor said Monday he will consider criminal charges in the aftermath of a players brawl at the end of the Cincinnati-Xavier basketball game, as stunned fans and school officials pondered the tarnishing blow delivered to one of the city's most eagerly anticipated annual events.

Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters said in a statement that his office would determine whether any criminal charges were appropriate. He declined further comment.

Deters, a University of Cincinnati alumnus, didn't specify what charges would be considered, but possible charges could include assault and battery or disorderly conduct. A spokeswoman said he hadn't set a timetable for a decision

"Anything we're asked to do, we will comply with," UC coach Mick Cronin said Monday. "Whatever they feel they need to do, we understand."

A Xavier spokeswoman said it would be premature to comment on Deters' investigation.

Cincinnati's Yancy Gates received the longest suspension, six games. Gates punched Xavier's Kenny Frease, causing a gash that left him bleeding below his left eye, and hit at least one other Xavier player during the fracas.

Frease also was kicked as the two teams converged on each other. X-rays of Frease after the game were normal.

Xavier guard Tu Holloway, who acknowledged making comments directed at UC's team right before the brawl, caused a stir by later describing his team's toughness as "a whole bunch of gangsters." Holloway, suspended for one game, said Sunday he regretted using the term "gangsters."

Criminal prosecutions from player confrontations during sports events are rare. A handful of National Hockey League players have been charged with assault over the years. Detroit Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi pleaded guilty to assault after he, while playing for Vancouver in 2004, sucker-punched Colorado center Steve Moore on the ice. No one was charged after a 2010 baseball brawl in Cincinnati in which St. Louis Cardinals catcher Jason LaRue suffered a concussion after being kicked in the head by Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto.

Officials and coaches for both universities have offered apologies and expressed embarrassment. Each team also suspended four players.

Xavier (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 8 AP), won the game on its home court, 76-53, but the focus after the "Crosstown Shootout" was on the brawl, which was televised live on ESPN and has been reshown a myriad of times on TV and online.

Gates, a native of Cincinnati, lamented that some people around the country are getting their introduction to the Bearcats through the brawl video.

"That's embarrassing," Gates said in a Monday news conference in which he apologized and became tearful. "It's just a bad situation."

"It's literally and figuratively a black eye," said Raymond Buse, a veteran publicist here. "I was in disbelief that this was happening in Cincinnati. Typically, this is great spirited, one of the greatest rivalries in college basketball.

"Now the national public just sees our 15 seconds of infamy."