Suspect Held in Romania Over American Basketball Player's Death
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Romanian prosecutors say a suspect has been detained over the killing of American basketball player Chauncey Hardy.
Ionut Adrian Tanasoaia surrendered to police early Monday. He is accused of beating up Hardy in a bar in the southern Romanian city of Giurgiu on Saturday night.
Mediafax news agency reported that Tanasoaia attacked Hardy because he wanted to dance with his girlfriend.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hardy died shortly after undergoing surgery in a Bucharest hospital on Sunday. The 23-year-old player had sustained severe head injuries and was in a coma when he was admitted to the hospital.
Hardy played guard for Sacred Heart University and was in Romania to play professional basketball for CSS Giurgiu.
"This is a terrible tragedy and we are saddened as a university and as a basketball program," Dave Bike, men's basketball coach for the university, said in a press release. "This is not just about a basketball player, but the person as well. We feel tremendous sadness and loss for Chauncey's family and those who were close to him."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We are deeply saddened by the loss of a fine young man who had his life cut short at such a young age while he was overseas doing something he loved," added Sacred Heart's director of athletics, C. Donald Cook.
Hardy was a member of the Sacred Heart men's basketball program from 2006 through 2010, CTnow.com reports. He appeared in 114 games over his four-year career and helped lead the Pioneers to back-to-back appearances in the Northeast Conference Championship game in 2007 and 2008.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.