Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Sound the alarm: Fans forced to evacuate Wisconsin-Indiana game after fire alarm goes off
By DYLAN LUTEY
With the Wisconsin-Indiana game tied at 54 and 10:06 remaining, fans were forced to evacuate Assembly Hall when the fire alarms began going off near the concessions behind the stands.
Play continued for a short period and the game wasn’t stopped. But eventually play was halted and fans were asked to leave.
“I thought it was a great timeout for whoever from Indiana pulled the fire alarm cause we were making a run,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after his team lost 74-70, snapping Indiana’s four-game losing streak.
Here is Greg Gard's response to the evacuation at Assembly Hall:
“It was determined a fire alarm went off in the balcony,” Indiana said in a statement. “Emergency management officials stationed in the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Command Center followed state law and evacuated the arena for the safety and well-being of everyone in attendance. Once it was determined there was no immediate threat, everyone was allowed back in the building.”
The game was tied at 54 when the delay occurred and the Badgers had just erased a 15-point deficit. When play resumed — and fans were allowed back in — the Hoosiers regained their composure and pulled out the victory. Sophomore forward Kel’el Ware was the difference-maker for the Hoosiers, finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
Ware said he wasn’t aware of what was going on when the alarms went off.
“Actually I didn’t even know,” he said. “We was walking to the bench and the ref was saying we have to go inside, and I looked over to my right and seen the little flash going off. That’s all I knew about that.”
Looking ahead, Wisconsin will take on No. 13 Illinois (20-7, 11-5) at home on Saturday and Indiana will go on the road to face Maryland (15-13, 7-10) on Sunday.
Follow Dylan on TwitterFollow Adam Zagoria on TwitterFollow ZAGSBLOGHoops on InstagramAnd Like ZAGS on Facebook
