North Carolina fans stormed the court after Seth Trimble’s game-winning 3-pointer, then stormed the court again after officials put time back on the clock.<\/b>
\nDuke coach Jon Scheyer said that Blue Devils staff members were punched in the face and his family feared for its safety when North Carolina fans stormed the court at the end of Saturday\u2019s game.
UNC won 71-68 on Seth Trimble\u2019s 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining. Fans stormed the court after he made the shot, then had to be ushered off the court for a final play. After Duke\u2019s final play, which didn\u2019t result in a shot, fans again stormed the court.
Other WRAL Top Stories
\u201cI got staff members that got punched in the face,\u201d Scheyer said. \u201cMy family [was] pushing people away, trying to not get trampled. That\u2019s not what this game is about. You give them all the credit in the world. It\u2019s not about the game, but obviously that was a scary ending and this rivalry is not about that.\u201d
The ACC implemented fines for storming the field or court this year, a move that came, in part, due to a February 2024 court storm at Wake Forest. Duke star Kyle Filipowski was injured in that storm.
Schools face fines of $50,000, $100,000 and $200,000 per offense from the ACC that will accumulate through two seasons in football and basketball. Schools are expected to have a plan to get opposing teams and personnel off the court safely.
\u201cI think court storming\u2019s fine,\u201d Scheyer said. \u201cI don\u2019t have any issue with court storming. Shouldn\u2019t have people getting punched in the face. Shouldn\u2019t put our players in position where they\u2019re face to face with people who can do anything at that time. It just takes one reaction. Even today, I had to push people away just to try to protect our players ,Court storming, I\u2019m all for it. They won. They should celebrate. If they want to court storm, court storm. But just let\u2019s get our guys off safely.\u201d
North Carolina athletics director Bubba Cunningham spoke to the media after the game and said he offered his apologies to Scheyer.
\u201cI apologize to coach, his family and, obviously, if somebody got injured, that\u2019s just really disappointing,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cBut we\u2019ll do the best we can to make sure that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d
Cunningham said North Carolina officials would review video of the incident to see what happened. He said people were knocked over.
\u201cUnfortunate things happen when so many people rush like that,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cThat was just unfortunate. Hope it doesn\u2019t happen again.\u201d
Trimble\u2019s game winner. pic.twitter.com\/c7GhNNDoKn<\/p>\n