Game Off: Arizona Won’t Fly

Saying it didn’t want to fly in bad weather, No. 18 Arizona canceled today’s game against St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia and rejected an offer to postpone the nationally televised game.

The cancellation will mean lost revenue for both teams and for ESPN2, which had planned to broadcast the game. It is especially disappointing for the unranked Hawks, who are seeking greater national exposure.

“St. Joseph is not looking in our direction,” said Don DiJulia, St. Joseph’s athletic director, on Friday.

Under NCAA rules, the cancellation would not be recognized as a forfeit by the Wildcats, said Laurie Bollig, a spokeswoman for the NCAA in Kansas. St. Joseph’s said it was not pursuing a forfeit.

Jim Livengood, Arizona’s athletic director, said safety was a paramount consideration in calling off the game.

“We have no way of predicting the weather conditions in Philadelphia or in Chicago [the team’s connecting point on its scheduled flight] for Saturday or Sunday, but we were concerned enough about their severity at the time we made the decision,” Livengood said.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Steve Nash scored 23 points and Santa Clara (10-3, 1-0) survived a late three-point shooting spree by Jon Kinloch of Gonzaga (9-4, 0-1) for a 72-61 victory in a West Coast Conference game at Santa Clara. . . . Reserve Rick Brainard scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half as Portland (10-3, 1-0) was a 97-86 winner over St. Mary’s (6-6, 0-1) in a WCC game in Moraga, Calif. . . . Garett Kreitz and Ira Bowman each scored 18 points in Philadelphia to lead Pennsylvania (3-5, 2-0) to a 74-71 victory over Brown (5-7, 0-1) to extend the Quakers’ record winning streak in the Ivy League to 45 games.

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Notes

Guard Merl Code, Clemson’s leading scorer at 12.5 points per game, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the Tigers’ 89-79 victory over Virginia on Wednesday night and is feared out for the season.