Newspaper columnist breaks leg as Iowa State fans storm court

AMES, Iowa -- Des Moines Register columnist Randy Peterson suffered what the newspaper said is a compound leg fracture when Iowa State fans stormed the court after a win over Iowa.

The fourth-ranked Cyclones rallied from 20 down to beat their in-state rivals 83-82on Thursday night on a winning shot with nine seconds left. Iowa State fans rushed the floor at Hilton Coliseum, and Peterson was injured as he was heading to the postgame news conference.

Peterson suffered a broken tibia and fibula, according to the Register, for which he has covered sports in Iowa for roughly four decades.The Register said Peterson will have surgery Friday.

Peterson, who was photographed at the hospital still wearing his press pass, took to Twitter shortly after the incident.

Peterson tweeted again Friday morning to describe the incident.

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard, when asked about how Iowa State handled on-court security, told ESPN in a text message, "In fairness we still do not know exactly what happened.

"However at this point our thoughts are focused on Randy and his wife Patty, who is battling cancer.

"Coach [Steve] Prohm and I both have personally spoken with him and have assured him we will do whatever we can do to help them both through what they are dealing with as a family."

Said Prohm: "I hate that Randy got hurt. That's terrible. But, my thing, I was trying to go see my wife, to be honest with you. It was a great moment. That's part of college basketball."

In February, students stormed the court after Kansas State upset Kansas, and Jayhawks coach Bill Self and some of his players were pinned up against the scorer's table. There were no injuries, but the matter led to the Big 12 passing a measure this past summer that would allow commissioner Bob Bowlsby to levy punishment on schools that fail to keep fans away from the court.

Prohm, however, said he feels that rushing the floor after a big win is just a part of the college atmosphere.

"That's part of college athletics. That's a great moment," Prohm said. "Those college kids ... they've been camping out here (for tickets) for three days."

The Big 12 told ESPN on Friday they will review Iowa State's procedures on court safety.

Information from ESPN's Andy Katz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.