Duke coach John Scheer said Monday that a team player injured during a storm on the court after a last-second loss to rival North Carolina was OK but had a bloody lip and was caught under fans.
“After the game, what happened is I came back to the locker room and I saw he had a bloody lip and he was disfigured, and he didn’t know what happened. He was on the floor,” Scheer said during the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches’ media call. “That was my main concern after the game.
“He’s doing well. He’s good, ready to go.”
The fourth-ranked Blue Devils lost 71-68 to now-No. The Heels made 11 on Seth Trimble’s 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left Saturday night. Fans rushed the Smith Center Court, thinking time had expired, before the official review added time.
Security personnel cleared the court for one final play, then fans stormed again as time expired.
Later, Scheer said staff were “punched in the face” during the chaotic moments, which included video of at least one fan throwing what appeared to be a Blue Devils bottle. A Duke spokeswoman later said one person was injured, but did not release additional details, citing privacy concerns.
Scheer clarified Monday that only one person was injured.
“One of our guys, he got hit in the face, got trampled,” Scheer said. “It looked like he was in a complete mess after the game. He’s doing well now, but it should never have happened.”
Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis said Monday that he had spoken with Scheer but did not provide further details. North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham spoke to reporters Saturday night, apologizing to Scheer and citing an injury.
The ACC, which announced a finer structure for schools in July when fans crowd the field or court, fined UNC $50,000 on Sunday.
“We accept the ACC fine for unauthorized persons on the court before Duke, and officials can fully clean the floor on Saturday,” UNC said in a statement. “The video we reviewed confirms that we followed our protocol for safely removing Duke players and bench personnel and game officials from the floor.
“We will continue to review our protocols to provide the highest level of security when fans crowd the court. We consider this matter closed and look forward to the remainder of the season.”
