Hawkeye recruits collide (literally) in Linn-Mar’s 90-87 win over Wahlert

MARION - The future of University of Iowa basketball laid underneath the basket, writhing in pain and clutching its respective knee.

Hawkeyes Coach Fran McCaffery wasn't here Friday night, but had he been, one big ol' lump would have been in his throat watching Linn-Mar's Jordan Bohannon and Dubuque Wahlert's Cordell Pemsl collide late in the fourth quarter of Linn-Mar's 90-87 win.

Bohannon drove to the basket, Pemsl tried to draw a charging foul, they hit each other and boom. There's two top recruits not getting up.

'I had that open lane, and Cordell kind of slid under me a little bit,” Bohannon said. 'We kind of knocked knees. At first, you could tell we both were in some pain. But I think it's more of a bone bruise than anything. In that moment, I think we just were both shocked.”

They eventually were able to get back into the game, Bohannon first. Pemsl spent some time at the end of Wahlert's bench before regrouping and re-entering, sans the balky looking brace he normally wears on his right knee.

He had surgery this past spring and went through six months of rehabilitation.

'I've been better,” he said, postgame. 'Just a little sore, banged up. Jordan and I just hit knees when I went to take that charge. He went up, and his off foot, that knee just hit mine. It was my first time with direct contact, any significant pain, since my surgery. It was more scary than anything. I feel it right now. It's pretty sore, but I'll be fine. Get some ice on it, take the day off tomorrow and hopefully get back to it Sunday.”

Minus their near catastrophe, Bohannon and Pemsl showed why they are Big Ten Conference quality, putting on a show with 35 and 34 points, respectively. Wahlert (9-4) couldn't figure out a way to defend guard Bohannon's outside shooting, and Linn-Mar (9-3) had no answer for the 6-foot-8 Pemsl inside.

Bohannon drained five 3-pointers as his team staved off a Wahlert rally. The Golden Eagles cut a 14-point, fourth-quarter Linn-Mar lead to two and had a pair of David Wedewer 3-point shots to tie in the dying seconds.

Instead it turned out to be a very nice rebound week for Class 4A eighth-ranked Linn-Mar, which responded from a loss last Friday to short-handed Iowa City West by picking up wins against fifth-ranked Ankeny (a game Bohannon scored 37 points in) and 3A's top-ranked team and two-time defending state champs.

'Yeah, it was a big week,” said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. 'I think the guys ought to know we're pretty good. We don't have a lot of margin for error, but I think when we play well, we can play with anybody. These were two really good wins.”

Bohannon and Pemsl plan on being roommates next year at Iowa, by the way. This was the only time this season they'll play against one another.

'I texted him Tuesday after their game and told him ‘You ain't having 37 on us Friday,'” Pemsl said. 'But he came pretty close.” 'He kind of talks more than I do,” Bohannon said. 'He was calling me before the game, trying to get in my head and stuff like that. When we were in the stands (during the sophomore game), he was calling me and asking for the Wi-Fi here and everything. I never opened up my texts and replied to him. He's just that kind of kid.”

Jared Printy added 16 points for Linn-Mar, which also got double figures from Beau Klostermann (14), Riley Murphy (10) and Reese Phillips (10). Wedewer had 21 for Wahlert, which played without injured starting forward Sage Maiers (ankle).

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AT LINN-MAR

DUBUQUE WAHLERT (87): David Iwowari 2-5 0-0 4, Riley Till 4-7 2-4 10, Cordell Pemsl 14-17 6-7 34, David Wedewer 6-14 4-4 21, Austin Kluck 2-3 0-0 4, Josh Schmitt 5-8 0-1 12, Judd White 1-2 0-0 2, Alexander Timp 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-57 12-16 87.

LINN-MAR (90): Jordan Brandt 0-3 3-4 3, Beau Klostermann 5-6 2-2 14, Riley Murphy 3-7 2-2 10, Jared Printy 6-8 1-2 16, Jordan Bohannon 13-25 4-4 35, Reese Phillips 4-5 2-3 10, Tyler Voves 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 32-58 14-17 90.

Halftime - Linn-Mar 42, Wahlert 41. 3-point goals - Wahlert 7-21 (Iwowari 0-1, Till 0-3, Pemsl 0-1, Wedewer 5-11, Schmitt 2-4, White 0-1), Linn-Mar 12-30 (Brandt 0-2, Klostermann 2-2, Murphy 2-5, Printy 3-5, Bohannon 5-13, Phillips 0-1, Voves 0-1). Rebounds - Wahlert 27 (Pemsl 7), Linn-Mar 25 (Klostermann, Bohannon 8). Total fouls - Wahlert 15, Linn-Mar 17. Fouled out - Klostermann. Turnovers - Wahlert 14, Linn-Mar 9.

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