UNI seniors leaning on each other through cruel NCAA end

OKLAHOMA CITY — The sun came up, both in Oklahoma City and Cedar Falls on Monday morning.

In the minutes that stretched into hours after Northern Iowa's stunning, heartbreaking final-minute fall from up 12 to a double overtime loss to Texas A&M — the worst collapse in NCAA basketball history, in fact — it seemed the world as the Panthers knew it ceased. The devastation was palpable; the hurt too much to hold in for three seniors who were a part of one of the best two-year runs in UNI history.

But the sun came up on Monday. And they'll move forward the same way they did this season: with each other.

'(I'll lean on) these guys here and the rest of the guys in the locker room, and the coaches because no one else saw what we did this season and no one was with us every day, getting up early, shooting shots, dogfighting through practice, trying to turn this thing around from 10-11,' said senior guard Matt Bohannon. 'I hope people understand just how much we came together and how much if you believe you can do something special. Man, I'm just going to lean on these guys. I mean, we'll eventually get over it, but we're just going to need our time for now.'

As much as everyone on the team was hurting for themselves, the pain wasn't a selfish one. To a man, everyone talked about Wes Washpun, Paul Jesperson and Bohannon.

Those three were a part of wins against Iowa, Iowa State, Wichita State (three times), North Carolina and Texas. They were a part of two Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championships. They were a part of a top-10 national ranking, and a school record 31 wins in 2015. They were a part of 3-point shooting records and buzzer beaters.

When the Panthers were at their low point this season, and any hope of the special things that happened this March seemed impossible, it was Washpun, Jesperson and Bohannon who circled the wagons.

Bohannon talked about leaving his mark on UNI earlier this season. Even Coach Ben Jacobson's normal steely, composed expression broke with emotion when he was asked if this was the toughest situation he'd ever been in. He didn't break until he said he 'learned a lot from these three seniors about how to' be a better leader.

'Because of the way these guys handled themselves and the leadership that these three guys showed, the way this one went down, there is no question this is the hardest one that I've been a part of,' Jacobson said. 'The last thing I would tell you is the reason it's that for me is because of these three guys, what they did. They should be playing next week, and I take responsibility for that not happening. But those three seniors were absolutely awesome.'

The mark the three seniors leave behind was evident in Washpun and Jeremy Morgan's embrace in the locker room after the game.

Two former rivals from Cedar Rapids Washington and Iowa City West, now roommates. One guy who was the engine powering most everything all season, another who did Sunday night, and surely will next season.

It makes the connection and the emotion pretty simple when you get right down to it.

'There's nothing else to say but I love them,' Morgan said. 'We became a family, you know? When things weren't going well in the middle of the season, it was all because of their leadership and who they were. They were never going to give up, never going to give in. I just love them to death.'

Morgan, Klint Carlson, Bennett Koch and Wyatt Lohaus have the torch now, to carry into next season.

If anything, what they experienced will likely bring them even closer together in search of some resolution. In that effort, Bohannon, Jesperson and Washpun each made it clear they won't be far as a shoulder to lean on.

'Just remember that feeling in the locker room like we have right now and understand that Paul, Wes, and myself just gave it our all, and we really wanted to make it to the Final Four,' Bohannon said. 'I'd just say just believe. We did a lot of things that no one else in the country thought we could. We just kept listening to Coach Jake and just said believe in ourselves.

'It's just something that the guys know. The guys know what we did this season, and they know how special it was. And you get that feeling around a group of guys and it's something that you'll never forget. So the program's in great hands and we'll be happy over the course of my — whatever I do next, I'll certainly be cheering for those guys and doing whatever I can to help out."

So yeah, the sun came up on Monday. And it'll continue to come up, right through to summer workouts, fall camp and into the regular season.

The ache won't go away quickly, but it will go away. And when UNI players, coaches and fans look back on this group and this team in the years to come, it'll be seen with joy for what they did together.

'I'm sure it's going to hurt a little bit more in the morning even, knowing that we're not playing next week. But I couldn't have asked for two better guys to go out with,' Jesperson said. 'I'm going to miss these guys. These guys are my brothers. I'm going to be real close to them for the rest of my life.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com