Cancellations were the name of the game this holiday weekend in Hawaii.
The Diamond Head Classic championship game in Honolulu between Stanford and Vanderbilt was canceled Saturday because of COVID-19 issues in the Cardinal camp.
In a tweet, the tournament said Stanford has health and safety protocols within its program and the game “will be declared a no contest.” The Liberty-BYU game was played as scheduled, with the Cougars earning a narrow 80-75 win.
A day earlier, Hawaii pulled out of its tournament against Northern Iowa because of injuries and COVID-19 issues. Coach Eran Ganot said in a release that the program hadn’t had a case in 21 months and that the “priority remains to protect our student-athletes as well as those we compete against.”
The Warriors entered with three players out with injuries and a fourth, center Mate Colina, in the health /safety protocol. On Friday, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser learned there were undisclosed additions to the protocol.
“We’re extremely disappointed to not participate in tomorrow’s game, but it’s absolutely the right thing to do,” Ganot said Friday.
UH lost to Vanderbilt and South Florida at the tournament, but it appears the Rainbow Warriors(4-5) will not be credited with a forfeit or loss for its cancellation.
This week, the Big West, of which UH is a member, declared a canceled game as a “no contest ” rather than a forfeit. The Big West reasoned it aligned with NCAA standards for a team that cannot participate because of certain circumstances, such as illness.
Stanford, which played Liberty on Thursday night, said on its website that team-related activities are on pause and “the status of future games” will be determined.
Also on Saturday, Hunter Maldonado had 22 points and 10 assists as Wyoming beat South Florida 77-57 in a consolation game.
In Liberty’s loss, Darius McGhee scored 29 points and was named tournament most outstanding player.
On Thursday, the Hawaii Bowl was canceled because of COVID-19 issues for the Hawaii football team.
It was also announced Thursday that the UH men’s basketball team’s second conference game Jan. 1 at UC Riverside as a well as the women’s team’ss Big West opener Dec. 30 in Riverside were canceled “due to COVID-19 related issues within the Highlanders’ program.”
