HILO, Hawaii – No. 8 Central Oklahoma's basketball game at Hawaii-Hilo was abruptly called off with 7:40 left in the game Tuesday night due to "the safety of the players."
"This is a preseason game and the safety of the players comes first," one official told the official scorebook and the public address announcer.
Officials made the decision to stop the game due to conditions inside Civic Auditorium. Several players on both teams slipped on the damp playing surface throughout the game, and more and more as the game went on. After several stoppages of play during the second half, and at the under-8 media timeout, officials pulled both head coaches to center court. The decision was made moments later to end the game early.
UCO trailed 62-54 when the game was stopped.
Administrators await clarification of NCAA rules on the outcome of the game.
