Dec. 17, 2000
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Santa Clara men's basketball team left campus Saturday morning expecting a leisurely trip to Indiana for Monday night's game at Purdue. Over 30 hours later, the Broncos arrived in West Lafayette, Ind. weary from a delay-filled journey.
"This has certainly been a trip to remember - already," said head coach Dick Davey. "We've travelled to Fairbanks, Alaska, Iowa City, Iowa and, now, Indiana. This has been one of the most difficult trips we've taken in recent years in terms to travel. Certainly it seemed throughout the trip that anything that could go wrong did."
The Bronco men's and women's teams departed campus at 8:45 a.m. Saturday and were scheduled to fly out of San Jose Airport at 10:15 en route to Chicago. The women's team was flying to Chicago for a Monday night game at Northern Illinois, while the men's squad was to connect on a flight to Indianapolis., then drive to West Lafayette via bus.
The flight from San Jose to Chicago was delayed seven hours due to a mechanical malfunction. The two teams arrived in Chicago at approximately 10 p.m. with the women departing by bus to their previously-arranged hotel. The men's team missed its flight to Indianapolis and made arrangements to stay at a nearby hotel then bus to West Lafayette on Sunday a.m.
The trip was extended by several hours on Sunday morning due to a mechanical failure with a frozen fuel line on the bus in addition to inclement weather that made highway travel hazardous. After several hours at the hotel, the team chartered a small excursion bus from Chicago to West Lafayette, where it arrived at approximately 6:15 p.m. (Eastern).
The weather in West Lafayette was seven degrees and windy upon arrival. The forcasted high temperature for Monday is 22 degrees with a chance of snow showers.
Purdue is 5-2 on the season following its 73-46 win over in-state rival Valparaiso Saturday in Indianapolis. Junior Rodney Smith leads three Boilermakers in double-figures with a 13.7 points per game average. Santa Clara is 4-4 following last week's 64-51 loss to Fresno State.
Following Monday night's Purdue contest, the Broncos travel via bus to Indianapolis, Ind. for a Wednesday night contest at Butler.