LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The basketball rivalry between Little Rock Central and North Little Rock is being trumped by a third opponent this year – surging cases of COVID-19.

Officials with the Little Rock and North Little Rock School Districts announced Tuesday that the boys’ and girls’ games scheduled for Tuesday night would be postponed.

The news came just hours after Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the state set a new record for active cases of COVID-19 and for daily new cases.

In a post on social media, district officials noted that the game, which was set to happen at Little Rock Central, would have attracted “hundreds of spirited fans from both schools.”

With both districts already being hit hard with staff and students impacted by COVID-19, school administrators said the “most prudent decision” they could make was to postpone the conference game.

Officials from both schools said they would work to set a new date for the makeup game.