RENO, Nev. — Nevada athletic officials say the arrest and subsequent dismissal of Ahyaro Phillips from the men's basketball team followed an altercation with two Nevada football players at an off-campus party.

When Phillips confronted a woman at the April 11 party, Wolf Pack football players Adam Liranzo and Jonathan Ott tried to intervene and defuse the situation, said Keith Hackett, associate athletic director.

Hackett said Phillips took a punch at Liranzo but missed. Liranzo in turn knocked Phillips out.

"Adam and Jonathan went over and tried to make cooler heads prevail," Hackett told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "Ahyaro took the first swing, and Adam took it from there."

Four days later, Phillips approached Liranzo, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound linebacker, outside the campus recreation center. Witnesses told police a gun allegedly fell out of Phillips' pocket.

During a meeting last Friday with athletic department officials, Phillips was urged to meet with campus police and cooperate with the investigation.

He was arrested that day on suspicion of two counts of possession of a deadly weapon on university property and later released on $4,000 bail.

Phillips is scheduled to be arraigned May 1 in Reno Justice Court on the gross misdemeanor charges. He could face up to a year in jail and $2,000 fine if convicted.

It was his second brush with the law since the freshman became a member of the basketball team last fall. He and teammates Brandon Fields and London Giles were cited for petty theft Oct. 15 at a sporting goods store. Phillips pleaded not guilty and charges were later dropped.

Football coach Chris Ault has said Liranzo and Ott would not face team punishment. He also met last week with both the football and basketball teams.

"He gathered the players and made sure they were all on the same page," Hackett said. "He said, 'Let's cool this. You all represent Nevada. All of us are playing for the same school.'

"Trust me, there has been a lot of discussion and a lot of meetings since this happened," Hackett said.

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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com