Linn-Mar's Lassen still in hospital after scary Friday night injury

MARION -- Linn-Mar senior basketball player Matt Lassen is in the Intensive Care Unit at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City after suffering a head injury during his team's game Friday night against Iowa City West.

Lassen tried to draw a charging foul in the first quarter of a 75-63 loss, falling backward and hitting the back of his head on the floor underneath the West basket. Linn-Mar's Marcus Paige, who blocked the attempted shot, then landed on top of him, apparently causing Lassen's head to hit the floor a second time.

Lassen was knocked unconscious and could be seen convulsing at one point. He was awake and alert when taken off the floor by paramedics on a stretcher and to St. Luke's Hospital.

"He's doing OK," said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson late Saturday afternoon, after visiting Lassen. "They are just kind of monitoring him. His (vital) signs and everything are OK, which is good. His spirits are good, he's awake, has been allowed to eat a little bit."

Robertson said Lassen was transferred to Iowa City about 11 p.m. Friday, though he preferred not to give specifics on his condition out of respect to the Lassen family. The coach said his player, who verbally committed Thursday to play college basketball at Albany, is expected to remain in the hospital for a number of days.