Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim observed a raucous Carrier Dome atmosphere rarely seen in the last decade and praised it.

Syracuse Director of Athletics Jake Crouthamel stood inside a surreal throng of postgame chaos and condemned it.

And SU freshman Erica Tuff got taken away on a stretcher.

Following the dramatic 67-65 Syracuse upset of No. 2 Pittsburgh on Saturday night, the 5,000 or so fans who stormed the court drew as much attention to themselves as they did to the victory — or soon-to-be victory — they celebrated. And the attention came from polarized perspectives.

“The fans won that game tonight as much as we did,” Boeheim said. “We need that atmosphere and that kind of excitement in this building.”

The excitement boiled over when fans rushed the court for the first time, after Jeremy McNeil’s tap-in put SU up, 67-65.

Tuff, who sat in the chair area of the student section, was pushed from behind and fell down. The leg of a chair poked into her upper left leg and tore her jeans. Tuff was taken away on a stretcher — she wore a neck brace for precaution — and by ambulance to University Hospital. Tuff said her friend also got his two front teeth knocked out.

“I didn’t get to see the end of the game either,” said Tuff, who watched highlights on a hospital television.

Tuff, a broadcast journalism and political science major, suffered deep bruises and a severe muscle strain in her upper leg but returned to her Lawrinson Hall room last night, she said. A Carrier Dome security official called her this morning to check on her safety, Tuff said. The official did not offer her free tickets, she said.

Still, Tuff said she supports court rushing. And she’ll attend tonight’s game against Georgetown (she has season tickets).

“I really wanted to do the court rush (on Saturday),” she said. “We went to the game at 4 o’clock to get good seats.”

Tuff and her friend weren’t the only victims of the court rushes. Pitt coach Ben Howland said one of his players was punched by a fan in an on-court melee.

Crouthamel issued a written statement after the game.

“Unfortunately,” Crouthamel stated in the release, “a great victory was marred by the inappropriate actions of a number of fans, whose riotous and rowdy behavior put student-athletes and coaches on both sides in a very dangerous situation.”

The Panthers would not identify the player who was punched, but Crouthamel said he hoped to soon identify the fan.

“We will pursue an investigation to identify those who acted inappropriately toward Pittsburgh student-athletes and staff,” Crouthamel’s statement read.

Said Howland: “One of our players was punched in the face by a fan. That showed a lack of crowd control. Something needs to be addressed here.”

Howland added that, after the game, Boeheim entered the Panthers’ locker room and apologized to the team. Boeheim told Howland that the offender, if he or she is an SU student, would be expelled from school if caught.

Still, Boeheim did not allow the incident to detract from his opinion of the fans, who rocked the Dome with decibel levels that, according to SU forward Hakim Warrick, “shook the floor.” During the middle of the second half, the 30,303 in attendance created such noise that Pittsburgh was forced to relay its offensive sets with signs such as “14” and “Regular” held by an assistant coach.

“It was a tremendous atmosphere, as good as it’s been,” Boeheim said. “The students were great. When the students get going, I think the other fans feed off that. When they were quiet, everybody was talking about how (Syracuse fans) were old people who couldn’t cheer anymore. That’s nonsense. If you can’t cheer a little bit at a basketball game, you’re not old. You’re dead.”

After the second court rush, as officials determined whether Brandin Knight’s 40-footer beat the buzzer, Boeheim took a microphone and urged spectators off the floor. When refs signaled that the shot came after time expired, a final fracas ensued.

Josh Pace and Carmelo Anthony jumped onto the scorer’s table, only their upper bodies visible among a throng of orange and blue. Bouncing fans crowded tightly around Kueth Duany and McNeil, perhaps explaining the streaks of paint that marked McNeil’s jersey afterward in the locker room.

Yet in the mob, further damage occurred. The celebration atop the scorer’s area damaged three tables and a courtside computer printer, a Dome employee said.

“I was in the middle of it,” Crouthamel said. “I was sitting right behind the scorer’s table and I just got engulfed.”

And now, Crouthamel’s swarmed by a challenge. At the end of his release, he stated that future “inappropriate behavior” won’t be tolerated.

“If that means we cannot allow anyone on the court again,” the statement said, “so be it.”

Students also rushed the court on Jan. 13 against Missouri, but there were no reported problems. The number of fans that cascaded from the stands yesterday, however, dwarfed the number on the floor after the Missouri game.

While Crouthamel looked for solutions to the problem, Boeheim looked for further ways to increase fan enthusiasm.

“A long time ago, we had enthusiastic, great fans,” Boeheim said. “Then the administration tried to quiet them down, move them around and sit them down. It cost us. It cost our program. We need that. We need to encourage (this excitement) and do whatever we can.”

Assistant sports editor Darryl Slater contributed to this story.

Published on February 2, 2003 at 12:00 pm