‘What a coward’: Teen KO’d by sucker punch during handshakes at US high school basketball game (VIDEO)

A teenage US high school basketball player has been arrested after a rival was brutally sucker-punched during the ceremonial handshakes following a game earlier this week.

The shocking incident happened after the game between the Nevada High School Cubs and the Carlisle High School Wildcats on Tuesday in Iowa, where the Cubs dished out a 72-47 beating.

As the players lined up to shake hands afterwards, a member of the Carlisle team landed a brutal blow to the stomach of the player leading the Cubs line.

A second strike appeared to send the victim out cold onto the court before the Wildcats perpetrator was wrestled to the ground.

The superintendent of the Carlisle police department, Bryce Amos, vowed to investigate the scenes, saying: “This is without question an unfortunate incident that is not representative of the school culture that exists in Carlisle Community School District.

“I want to make it clear that this type of conduct is not tolerated at Carlisle CSD. The district will follow the student code of conduct policy and procedures throughout the investigation of this incident and implement appropriate consequences.”

It was later reported by local media that the 17-year-old accused of the attack, named as Carter Prenosil, had been arrested and was now facing felony charges.   

It’s unclear what transpired during the game itself to potentially prompt the violent outburst, but there has been widespread condemnation online – where the clip has been viewed more than 3 million times on Twitter alone.

“Hard to fathom this happened after an Iowa high school basketball game,” wrote local sports reporter Keith Murphy.  

Fellow reporter Cedric Golden fumed: “Throw him off the team. I don't care what precipitated this. Sucker punch. What a coward.”

Others suggested that conducting a post-game handshake line was asking for trouble and was an outdated idea.

“Quite a sucker punch. The handshake line is antiquated and irrelevant. There's no need for it,” tweeted reporter Nick Sabato.

The disturbing scenes are not the first on a US high school basketball court in recent months.

Former NBA star Corey Benjamin apologized after his daughter was filmed landing a sickening shot on a 15-year-old rival during a game in Southern California in November.

The victim's mother claimed that the girl had been encouraged to land the punch on her daughter by a parent on the sidelines.