Bohannon suffered high ankle sprain in loss to Texas A&M

OKLAHOMA CITY — University of Northern Iowa officials confirmed Monday that Northern Iowa senior guard Matt Bohannon suffered what's officially being called a mild high ankle sprain in the closing minutes of regulation of the Panthers' 92-88 double-overtime loss to Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

'It's a very mild high ankle sprain,' said Don Bishop, Director of Athletic Training Services at UNI. 'He did injure his knee and lower leg, and high ankle. He is undergoing an MRI yet, but his initial exam and tests were good.'

Fear of an ACL tear or significant ligament damage was put to rest after team trainers did a 'special test' after the game. No ACL tear was found, Bishop said. The MRI is being done due to previous knee injury suffered during Bohannon's career at UNI — not an ACL tear — that was reaggravated in the same incident as the ankle sprain.

Bohannon went up for a rebound in a group of players with 1:17 left in regulation, and came down awkwardly as Jeremy Morgan grabbed a rebound and was fouled. He held his left leg in pain.

The former Linn-Mar guard came out of the game and immediately went back to the tunnel for initial testing, to jog in place and see if he could go. Discomfort and the uncertainty of the extent of the injury forced him to the bench, which he rejoined with 1:02 to go, just before Texas A&M went on its historic run into the double overtime winner.

Bohannon did eventually return to the game, checking back in with 3:51 left in the first overtime after fellow senior guard Wes Washpun fouled out. Bohannon grabbed a rebound shortly after returning to the game, and resumed inbounding duties, which were his normal responsibilities in situations where the defense was in full-court pressure.

The senior finished the game with four points on 1 of 3 shooting and six rebounds. He ends his career as the all-time leader at UNI in 3-pointers made with 268, and sits seventh on the Missouri Valley Conference's all-time 3-pointers-made list. He finished this season with a career-high average of 11.5 points per game and led the MVC with 93 3-pointers made.

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