Bren Mop Up Helps Save Prep Basketball Event

The fact that the six-game Nike Extravaganza took place at all was amazing. On Friday, the Bren Center was inundated with as much as an inch of water from heavy rain that cascaded onto the facility from upper levels of the campus. It forced the postponement of a women’s basketball game between UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton Friday night.

Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight, whose team beat host Dana Hills, 37-35, in a key South Coast League game Friday, spent until midnight mopping up at the facility with family members and boosters.

Early Saturday morning, workmen carrying sandbags could be seen outside the facility, and a man was measuring for replacement carpet in adjoining rooms that also suffered water damage. There was a faint smell of varnish in the building and the wooden, tongue-and-grove playing floor appeared to be buckling.

“I thought I was going to have to call this off last night,” McKnight said.

A group of experts will examine the floor today to assess the damage. Irvine officials are concerned about water that still may be trapped under the floor.

McKnight called several facilities late Friday night to see about moving the event, but could not secure one and, despite UCI officials warning that more rain would force the cancellation of the event, McKnight made the decision early Saturday morning to play.

“We kept calling to see if we were going to play and we didn’t hear anything, so we showed up,” said Ocean View Coach Jim Harris while examining the playing surface before his team’s 11:30 a.m. start against Etiwanda, which the Seahawks won, 54-41.