Syracuse Basketball Star Leads Team to Victory While His Mother's Hamilton House Burns

HAMILTON, MA -- The home that caught fire on Saturday night belongs to Mandy Carter-Zegarowski, the mother of Syracuse University basketball star Michael Carter-Williams, according to property records.

Carter-Williams was playing in an NCAA March Madness tournament game at the time of the fire.

Firefighters were battling the fire as Carter-Williams played a key role in the Orange's 66-60 win over 12th-seeded University of California in the Round of 32. The game was played at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Carter-Williams, who started the game at point guard, scored 12 points and had two assists in the win over the Golden Bears, according to coverage of the game by SB Nation.

Carter-Zegarowski was there in California at the game to cheer on her son, according to several sources. Well wishes and offers of support for the Zegarowski family began to flow on Twitter just minutes after the severity of the fire became known. Zegarowski family members acknowledged the support via Twitter and said the most important thing was that nobody was injured.

The seriousness of the fire also surprised family members back home. Hamilton Police Officer Mike Girolimon told Hamilton-Wenham Patch that family were inside when he arrived, though they knew smoke was coming from a chimney. He told the family to get out. Within minutes, the entire side of the chimney and roof were up in flames, Girolimon said.

A paramedic on scene said there were no reported injuries.

Police at the fire were not able immediately to confirm that the home belongs to Carter-Zegarowski, but property records and online real estate data show that it does.

The three-alarm fire significantly damaged the Colonial-style home at 261 Cutler Road.

Fire crews from all across the North Shore were called to Hamilton to help battle the fire, including from Beverly, Danvers, Essex, Ipswich, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Rowley, Topsfield and Wenham.