UNI Upsets Texas On Jesperson’s Buzzer-Beater [Video]
Another shining moment for the UNI Panthers in Oklahoma City.
Paul Jesperson's desperation shot from half-court as time expired, banked off the glass and dropped through the net, giving the No. 11 seed a wild 75-72 victory over No. 6 Texas in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night (March 18, 2016).
The buzzer-beater came just moments after Isaiah Taylor of Texas tied the game on a drive to the basket with 2.7 seconds remaining.
Matt Bohannon inbounded the ball for UNI and tossed to Jesperson in front of the Longhorns' bench. Jesperson took a few dribbles, then let the basketball fly from the center of the floor.
Kaboom!! The shot of the tournament, so far.
Jesperson's heroics put the Panthers (23-12) into the round of 32 teams for the second year in a row. UNI next faces Texas A&M (27-8) on Sunday at approximately 6:40 p.m. on truTv.
It's the third fantastic finish the Panthers have had at Chesapeake Energy Arena (formerly the Ford Center) during the NCAA Tournament. In 2010, Ali Farokhmanesh hit a pair of memorable 3-pointers -- against 8th-seeded UNLV and top-seed Kansas -- to help UNI advance to the Sweet 16.
Survive and advance. The Panthers did just that on Friday, as they notched their fifth all-time NCAA Tournament victory.
Texas opened the game with a 7-0 lead, before the Panthers settled down. Trailing 11-4, UNI went on a 23-2 run to build a 27-13 lead. The Panthers' advantage eventually grew as large as 16 points, at 33-17, on a layup by Wes Washpun with 6:39 remaining in the first half.
Washpun ended the game with 17 points to lead five UNI players in double-figure scoring. Jeremy Morgan tallied 16 points, Jesperson followed with 14, Klint Carlson added 11 and Bohannon had 10.
Isaiah Taylor finished with a game-high 22 points, Eric Davis Jr. scored 13 and Javan Felix added 12 for the Longhorns (20-13).
The Panthers owned a 44-36 halftime lead after shooting 59.1 percent in the first half.
Texas played its way back into the game with a fast start to the second half, opening the half with a 17-3 run to build a 53-47 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining. The rest of the game featured seven ties and six lead changes.
Texas' Prince Ibeh, a 41.5-percent free throw shooter for the season, made the first of two to put the Longhorns ahead 70-69 with 45.1 seconds remaining. Carlson scored for UNI, then Isaiah Taylor missed a driving layup for Texas, and UNI rebounded.
Washpun was fouled with 11.9 seconds to play. He made one of two free throws to set up the dramatic ending.