Rio Mesa Player Stays in a Coma

Dante Nunnery, a junior varsity basketball player at Rio Mesa High, remained in a coma and was listed in serious but stable condition Friday at Los Robles Medical Center in Thousand Oaks after collapsing Monday night during a game at Agoura High.

Nunnery, a sophomore guard, collapsed with less than a minute to play in a tournament game against the host Chargers.

“We don’t know what happened,” said Nunnery’s mother, Lorean. “The doctors said they won’t know until he comes out of the coma and they can run some tests.”

Nunnery was breathing heavily after collapsing, said Rio Mesa Coach David Bregante, who rushed to Nunnery’s side.

But Nunnery then stopped breathing and Bregante said he couldn’t detect a pulse.

A nurse who was watching the game and Agoura Coach Gerald Pickett administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation to Nunnery until paramedics arrived.

“It was like a bad nightmare,” Bregante said. “I’m still really shaken up.”

Nunnery has never had any serious health problems, his mother said, and Bregante said he had not seen any evidence of problems in practices or games.

“He seemed like your typical, healthy, 15-year-old kid,” Bregante said.

Nunnery, 5 feet 10 and 185 pounds, started on the Rio Mesa junior varsity as a freshman and was one of the team’s leading scorers this season.

The team was 4-0 going into Monday’s game.

Three of Nunnery’s five brothers, J.R., Swanson and Tim, played various sports at Rio Mesa. Another brother, Tyrone, is a senior guard on the varsity team.