Hlas: Ali knocks monkey off Panthers' backs

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Ali Farokhmanesh knew the shot was good.

He stood still and watched for an extra moment as his last 3-point shot of the night splashed through the net in the Ford Center. He had made a full follow-through, as if the shot were merely one of thousands he had taken in a practice or when he was shooting by himself over the years.

Farokhmanesh gently pumped a fist as the ball cleared the rim and swished through the basket with 4.9 seconds left to give Northern Iowa a 69-66 lead over Nevada-Las Vegas that held up for a first-round NCAA tournament win. He knew.

“The shot felt good as soon as it left my hands,” he said. “After I shot that, it just felt really good.”

Kwadzo Ahelegbe knew the shot was good.

As he had been in the game's final five minutes, Ahelegbe was tortured by UNLV defenders as he brought the ball from one basket toward the other on the Panthers' final possession. He had no timeouts left to call, and the weight of the UNI world on his shoulders for what seemed the longest half-minute in the program's history.

But he finally got loose enough to feed the ball to guard Johnny Moran, and watched as Moran whipped a cross-court pass to wide-open Farokhmanesh. Ahelegbe knew.

“Johnny made the right play and got it to the best shooter in the country,” Ahelegbe said.

“I don't know why they leave that guy open. For them, I think it was a big mistake. It was great they did.”

Moran knew the shot was good.

The sophomore could have rushed up a shot himself with the game tied at 66. But the Panthers are a wise team.

“At first I thought about it,” he said. “But I caught the ball pretty deep and they had a man on me, and there was still quite a bit of time left. I saw Ali open. He's the best shooter on the team and one of the best shooters in the country. I had to pass it.”

Moran knew.

“To be honest with you,” he said, “I think everybody on the team knew.”

It was a “One Shining Moment” moment in a game that UNI won on guile more than anything else. This was the best foe the Panthers had played all season. UNLV showed superior athleticism to the typical Valley variety, and a defensive fury to boot.

UNI had an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers to the Rebels' eight. The pressure defense that helped bring the Runnin' Rebels all the way from a 58-49 hole to a tie was a timeout-burning nightmare for UNI down the stretch. Ahelegbe had to burn clock, not turn the ball over, and make something good happen in that final 40 seconds.

“I would rather have had a timeout,” said Panthers Coach Ben Jacobson. “As it was, Kwadzo had to handle the pressure a long time.”

Farokhmanesh got the shining moment. Ahelegbe set up the stage and installed the lights.

After UNI's 58-49 lead was chopped to 58-56, Ahelegbe scored the next eight Panther points before the knockout punch from Ali. He knifed for a basket. He made four free throws to cap his team's 20-of-23 night at the line. He caught a long downcourt pass and scored on a 1-on-2 situation with 2:18 left.

All the while, he had to dribble, dribble, dribble against the Rebels' hounding, hounding, hounding.

Finally, with no timeouts left, Ahelegbe dribbled, dribbled, dribbled as all the neck hairs in the arena stood at attention.

“Kwadzo is pretty smart,” Farokhmanesh said. “I knew he wouldn't do anything ridiculous out there.”

A distinct air of confidence has wafted over the Panthers all season. It was clear in their words and body language before their practice here on Wednesday.

It was nothing cocky, just the calm that comes from having been a group that has prevailed a lot of times over the last two MVC-championship seasons.

“Experience,” said Jacobson. “There's no way you can replace that.”

A year ago, after UNI's fourth-straight first-round loss in the NCAAs, Jacobson matter-of-factly said “We're going to win a game in the tournament. I don't have any questions about that.”

Jacobson knew.