NOTES: NIAA hopes to curb basketball blowouts with running clock

Blowouts in basketball games occasionally happen.

But the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association took steps Monday to make sure the agony for losing teams won’t be prolonged.

The NIAA’s Board of Control adopted a mercy rule for basketball, beginning with this season.

When a team takes a lead of at least 40 points in the second half, the game clock will run continuously.

The clock will only stop for timeouts, technical fouls, injuries and any discussion by game officials that take a significant amount of time.

The rule is similar to football, where a running clock is used when a team takes a lead of at least 45 points in the second half.

Last season, the NIAA sent a memo to member schools threatening sanctions against coaches whose teams won by 50 or more points after several games finished in a gross imbalance.

A running clock could help prevent that.

“I would imagine the board will be looking at doing this for soccer before long, too,” NIAA assistant director Jay Beesemyer said. “These 14-0 and 15-0 games have to stop.”

FINDLAY PREP — Findlay Prep’s basketball team will again be permitted to play Nevada teams on a limited basis this year.

But the Pilots should soon gain associate member status with the NIAA.

The NIAA Board of Control discussed granting the associate status for the Pilots, who won’t be a member of any league or class and would not compete for a state title.

“It requires them to comply with our association rules as far as (grade point average) and other requirements,” NIAA legal counsel Paul Anderson said. “They’d only compete on a limited basis against member schools, and they would pay membership dues.”

The Pilots play a national schedule, and last season faced only two NIAA member schools.

“It cleans up confusion on a national level as to whether we’re a member or not,” Findlay Prep coach Michael Peck said. “It legitimizes our program. Nothing with our program has changed nor do I anticipate it changing.”

WRESTLING — The NIAA state wrestling meet will return to the Cox Pavilion in February.

The meet was held at Cox Pavilion in 2010, the last time the meet took place in the South.

“It’s not a big arena. We can only fit three mats,” NIAA assistant director Donnie Nelson said. “Some people were opposed to it because we had to adjust the schedule. The venue itself has its limitations, but it has a nice feel to it.

“We have searched every single possible lead for a venue in Southern Nevada, and this is the only one that is available.”

Nelson said UNLV would place a surcharge on all tickets sold. Adult tickets will go up $2, and student tickets will increase by $1.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts organization will donate $12,500 toward the cost of the event, Beesemyer said.