COLLEGE PARK, Md. - For the second time in three seasons, the Duke-Maryland men's basketball game took a backseat to the postgame antics of the Cole Field House crowd.
Renee Boozer, the mother of Duke's starting center Carlos Boozer, was struck in the head by a bottle thrown from the rowdy Terrapin crowd disappointed by the home team's 98-96 overtime loss to the rival Blue Devils. The incident occurred almost two years exactly after Tony Van Horn, uncle of Baltimore-native Nate James, was involved in an altercation with Maryland fans.
Following the stunning come-from-behind victory, the Maryland crowd began hurling debris toward the Duke bench as both teams hurried off the floor. Renee Boozer, seated directly behind the bench, was struck by part of the debris. She was treated by the Duke medical staff and did not visit the hospital.
Boozer's father, Carlos Boozer Sr., meanwhile spoke briefly to the media gathered in a cramped Cole Field House hallway on his way to speak to his son.
"I went to school here, she went to school here," the elder Boozer said. "They should never treat fans like that. Carlos thought about coming here, but going to Duke was the best thing he did."
Neither school made any official comment on the matter, nor have the Blue Devils yet officially initiated any action with the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Two years ago, Van Horn and James' father, a marine sergeant, were pelted by ice and debris from the hostile Maryland crowd.
"[Spectators] were throwing stuff at us all game long," Van Horn said at the time. "Finally something hit one of us and we went up there after those people."
After the incident two years ago, the ACC officially investigated the behavior of the Maryland crowd, but no punishment was handed down to the school.
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