Batista will miss Gonzaga’s game

Gonzaga University will again be without the services of first-year junior college transfer J.P. Batista this afternoon when it takes on Lewis-Clark State College in the second of its two exhibition basketball games.

Tipoff is set for 2 at the McCarthey Athletic Center, but GU athletic director Mike Roth said the NCAA has still not cleared Batista, a 6-foot-9, 269-pound center from Pernambuco, Brazil, to play.

“We were hoping to hear something this week,” Roth said. “But we’re still confident we’ll know something soon – just not this weekend.”

Today’s exhibition was hastily arranged last week after it was learned that L-C State, which lost to Washington State 62-53 in an exhibition in Pullman last Wednesday, had an opening in its schedule.

The game will replace the Blue-White game that had been scheduled for today.

“We believe we get more out of playing another team rather than playing against ourselves,” Bulldogs coach Mark Few said. “When we were able to move the Blue-White game to a contest against LCSC, we didn’t hesitate to make the change.”

The Zags, who open the regular season at home against Portland State on Nov. 19, beat Emporia State 114-86 in an earlier exhibition game.