The Night the Lights Went Out in Rolle

Photo by Matt Beaty

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – With 8:52 left in the second half and Northern Arizona leading Pacific 45-43, the Northern Arizona University campus and surrounding area was hit with a power outage forcing the suspension of the game. The game was being televised by NAU Television Services on Universityhouse from the Rolle Activity Center.

“It is unfortunate,” said Head Coach Mike Adras. “It was a good game. It will be decided between the institutions. There is a lot of concern throughout the city of Flagstaff. I commend the officials for their actions.”

The power went out at 8:01 p.m. local time and was out for 45 minutes before the decision was made to suspend the contest.

“Tonight’s game is being suspended due to the power outage,” said referee Michael Irving. “It is unsafe to continue playing the game at this point in time. Any decision regarding the future of the game will have to be made between the athletic directors of the participating schools.”

According to Rule 5, Section 4 in the NCAA Basketball Rule Book, under the title Interrupted Game, it states “When the game is interrupted because of events beyond the control of the responsible administrative authorities, it shall be continued from the point of interruption unless the teams agree otherwise or there are applicable conference, league or association rules”.

Pacific led 29-27 at halftime and took an 11-point lead with a 12-3 to start the half. But the Lumberjacks rallied to retake the lead at 45-43 when the power went out. Junior Cameron Jones had 17 points, while Gabe Rogers added 10 before the game was stopped.

NAU officials cleared the building that had close to 1,000 fans in attendance.

Northern Arizona plays at Santa Clara on Wednesday, Nov. 25, providing potential opportunity to continue to the contest. Pacific, located in Stockton, Calif., is 80 miles from the Santa Clara campus.

The final decision on the status of the game will be determined in the next few days.