Despite Jordan Bohannon's 44 points, Linn-Mar falls to Cedar Falls on OT buzzer beater

CEDAR RAPIDS — Four years ago, one of the best preps the Metro has seen had a for-the-ages performance that carried Linn-Mar's boys' basketball team to an unforgettable double-overtime substate final victory.

Tuesday night, one of the best preps the Metro has seen had a for-the-ages performance for the Linn-Mar boys' basketball team in an overtime substate final. Only his team didn't win.

Jordan Bohannon ended his career with 44 points, but watched sophomore guard A.J. Green hit a 17-foot jumper at the buzzer to give Cedar Falls a 76-74 overtime win in a threatre-esque Class 4A thriller at the U.S. Cellular Center. Bohannon, the University of Iowa signee, had 33 points in the second half and OT in a performance that was so reminiscent of Marcus Paige, when the North Carolina point guard dropped 49 on Cedar Rapids Kennedy in 2012.

Bohannon finishes third all-time in Metro scoring — behind his brother, Jason, and Paige — and made more 3-pointers than any Metro prep. He also finishes without ever having gotten to the state tournament.

'I can't even put into words what I'm feeling right now,' Bohannon said. 'All the hard work I put in with these guys. Four years together ... It just sucks it has to end like this.'

'Unfortunately, one of the best Metro careers came to an end tonight, and that's tough,' said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. 'He really hurts right now, but once he gets a chance to reflect on his senior year and career, he's going to be real proud of what he accomplished. He was big tonight. I'm proud of him.'

Bigger and stronger, Cedar Falls (19-4) took a 29-20 lead at halftime, with Bohannon throwing his right arm out in frustration after not getting a foul called on a halfcourt attempt at the horn. He was throwing his right arm out in the fourth quarter in exhultation after hitting a 3 from NBA range that gave Linn-Mar (17-6) a 56-55 lead with 2:26 remaining.

It put an exclammation point on a rally from 14 points down in the third quarter.

'It was just the same thing as it's always been,' said Bohannon, who hit seven treys and ended up making 14 of his 25 shots from the field. 'Coach Robertson believed in me ever since my first practice as a freshman. He built me up, believed in me. At halftime, he just said 'I've always believed in you. Keep playing your game.' I think that's what really got to me in the second half.'

'We played a great first half, then Jordan got going a little bit,' said Green, who finished with 31 points. 'OK, got going a lot. We just had to keep battling it out.'

Green, definitely a major Division I recruit, tried to go one-on-one for the final shot of regulation, only to get stripped by Linn-Mar's Riley Murphy. The teams traded blows in the four-minute OT, with four Bohannon free throws putting Linn-Mar up, 72-68, with 1:11 left.

But Green was fouled attempting a trey and made all three free throws to make it a one-point game, then Bohannon was called for traveling with 51.3 left. Green nailed a pull-up jumper with 43 seconds left to put CF ahead and Tray'Von Fagan made one of two free throws after a Bohannon miss to make it 74-72 Tigers.

Beau Klostermann was fouled on a shot attempt on the block and splashed both free throws to tie it at 74-74. Cedar Falls called timeout with 13 seconds left, inbounded to Fagan, who delayed and gave the ball to Green.

He penetrated toward the left elbow, pulled up and fired. Ballgame.

'Right away when it left my hand, it felt pretty good,' Green said. 'It just happened to go down. It's just a great feeling to get this win.'

Fagan finished with 21 points and sophomore forward TreyShawn LaBeaux 19. Klostermann was Linn-Mar's only other player in double-figures scoring with 12.

'Once you say that, sure,' Robertson said, when asked if the game was 2012 all over again. 'It was a great performance by Jordan. He put his team on his back in the second half and really willed us back in the game. Unfortunately, we just didn't quite finish it off.'

AT U.S. CELLULAR CENTER

LINN-MAR (74): Jordan Brandt 3-7 2-3 9, Beau Klostermann 4-9 3-4 12, Jared Printy 1-7 2-5 7, Riley Murphy 1-4 0-0 2, Jordan Bohannon 14-25 9-11 44, Reese Phillips 1-3 0-0 2, Tyler Voves 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 16-23 74.

CEDAR FALLS (76): TreyShawn LaBeaux 8-10 2-4 19, Tray'Von Fagan 10-17 1-5 21, Isaiah Johnson 2-6 0-0 4, Taylen Alexander 0-4 1-2 1, A.J. Green 10-19 7-7 31, Denison Harrington 0-0 0-0 0, Mitchell Bower 0-0 0-0 0, Ben Gerdes 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Leisinger 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-57 11-18 76.

Halftime — Cedar Falls 29, Linn-Mar 20. End of Regulation — Cedar Falls 60, Linn-Mar 60. 3-point goals — Linn-Mar 10-28 (Brandt 1-3, Klostermann 1-5, Printy 1-2, Murphy 0-3, Bohannon 7-14, Phillips 0-1), Cedar Falls 5-12 (LaBeaux 1-1, Fagan 0-2, Alexander 0-1, Green 4-8). Rebounds — Linn-Mar 24 (Bohannon 7), Cedar Falls 39 (Fagan 12). Total fouls — Linn-Mar 16, Cedar Falls 20. Fouled out — None. Turnovers — Linn-Mar 6, Cedar Falls 14.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com