Positive COVID-19 test puts men’s basketball season in jeopardy

By William Seekamp | February 26, 2021 7:53pm
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Screenshot from NBC Sports Northwest broadcast of Feb. 20 game against Pacific University.

The remainder of the men’s basketball season remains uncertain after yesterday’s positive COVID-19 test. According to Senior Associate Athletic Director Jason Brough, they are awaiting the results of a second test on the infected individual to make sure the test was not a false positive.

“We just got the results back yesterday and there's still a confirmation process on whether it's potentially a false positive or confirmed,” Brough said.

The positive test forced the Pilots to cancel the final two games of the regular season against San Diego and Santa Clara. The two games will not be rescheduled. 

The Pilots playing in the WCC tournament in Las Vegas, which starts on March 4, is still in question, but is looking unlikely, especially if the second test is positive. According to CDC recommendations, anyone who has not completed their vaccination series and is exposed to the virus should quarantine for ten days without testing or seven days with a negative COVID-19 test after the fifth day in quarantine.

Brough declined to give details on the number of athletes and coaches in quarantine, noting that information would be available on the University’s COVID-19 dashboard, which is updated every Tuesday.

William Seekamp is the Sports Editor for The Beacon. He can be reached at seekamp22@up.edu.

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