[PAmedic]

saw this on the ticker and investigated a little- very sad

Paradise Jam title game called off

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) - The championship game of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam was canceled Saturday after the 15-year-old brother of Arizona State senior forward Aubree Johnson died while in St. Thomas to watch her play.

The No. 13 Sun Devils were supposed to face No. 18 Rutgers on Saturday night, but Arizona State said the game was called off hours before the scheduled tipoff because of the death in the morning.
Virgin Islands Police Department spokeswoman Shawna Richards confirmed that Johnson's brother, Jordan, died in his sleep but didn't provide other details or a cause of death.

"The ASU basketball family extends well beyond the players and coaches listed on the roster," coach Charli Turner Thorne said in a statement released by the school. "It includes the families and loved ones of every player, coach and support staff member in the program.

"When one of them encounters a loss, it is a loss that is shared by every member of the 'family.' With that in mind, the team decided that it would be best to not go forward with playing Rutgers."

Because of the NCAA's "catastrophic event" rule, neither team will be given a loss for the missed game. Rutgers could've forced Arizona State to forfeit by taking the floor at game time, but the Scarlet Knights stayed away from the arena on Saturday, according to Craig Jonas, a spokesman for the tournament organizer.

A moment of silence was held before the start of the tournament's first game Saturday, a 95-86 win by Auburn over Western Michigan.

Johnson, a power forward from Post Falls, Idaho, started all but one game last season. She was third on the team in rebound average and fifth in total assists. She earned Pac-10 All-Academic second-team honors the past two years.

Arizona State (5-1) advanced to the Paradise Jam title game with a 67-63 victory over Western Kentucky on Friday night. Rutgers (2-2) defeated Penn State in the semifinals.