Students toss bottles, light fires after Maryland victory

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Students lit bonfires, threw bottles, climbed onto business roofs and shot off fireworks after Maryland beat Indiana to win the NCAA tournament.\nOne reveler was tackled by an ice cream shop employee when he tried to ram a police barricade through the shop's window. Another student was badly cut after getting hit in the head with a bottle.\nBonfires grew in several areas as items were tossed onto the blazes by students milling about.\nPolice were deployed in force Monday night, hoping to avoid a repeat of the violence that followed Saturday's semifinal victory against Kansas. Police promised to "aggressively arrest" people who refused to disperse.\nAuthorities said they planned to clamp down on the bonfires, which did significant damage last year after Maryland lost to Duke in the Final Four, said university police spokeswoman Maj. Cathy Atwell. One fire caused an estimated $500,000 in damage and disrupted cable service when it burned through a fiber optic line.\nWith students back from spring break Monday, officials feared post-game celebrations could be even wilder Monday night than Saturday, when police in riot gear squared off against a crowd of about 2,000 students.\nFans also threw beer bottles, ripped down street signs, broke store windows and trashed two police cruisers during the three-hour melee that spilled into early Sunday morning. Police, who drove students from the streets around 1 a.m. using pepper spray, arrested two people.\nHundreds of red-clad fans filled the seats at Cole Field House on Monday for the last Maryland game seen at the historic arena, watching the game on a huge television screen. Cole is slated to be replaced next year by a larger building.\nFans mobbed the floor as it became clear in the last few minutes that Maryland was going to win, but the scene was joyous and not raucous.\n"This is the best feeling ever," said Dave Hunt, 20.\n"It's amazing, absolutely amazing," said Sumi Moses, 23.\nIn downtown College Park, city workers removed street signs Monday afternoon along with "anything that could be used as a missile," according to Joe Nagro, the city's deputy public works director.\nSchool officials also planned to enforce a recent change in the university's code of conduct, which allows the school to discipline any students who are arrested off campus for misdemeanors.\nSeveral students were arrested on misdemeanor charges after last year's Final Four incident, but the school's code of conduct only allowed punishment for felonies, said university spokesman George Cathcart.\n"The university will take very seriously any actions by students that are illegal," Cathcart said.