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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Northern Iowa 75, Texas 72
When: 9:50 PM ET, Friday, March 18, 2016
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Officials: # Bo Boroski, # Marques Pettigrew, # Chris Rastatter
Attendance: 15279

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Northern Iowa guard Paul Jesperson hit one of those shots that define March Madness to lift the Panthers to a 75-72 upset of Texas on Friday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

UNI guard Matt Bohannon threw an inbound pass to Jesperson with 2.7 seconds left. Jesperson took a couple dribbles to mid-court and launched a shot that banked in as time expired.

UNI saw its big lead in the first half slip away, but the 11th-seeded Panthers still made the plays they needed to upset sixth-seeded Texas.

UNI guard Wes Washpun scored 17 points, guard Jeremy Morgan added 16 and Jesperson's miracle shot gave him 14.

The Panthers (23-12) advanced to face third-seeded Texas A&M on Sunday.

Guard Isaiah Taylor scored 22 points to lead Texas (20-13). His jumper with three seconds left tied the game and it looked to be headed until overtime until UNI's prayer was answered.

Texas began the second half with a 17-3 run to go from an eight-point hole at halftime to a 53-47 lead when guard Kerwin Roach hit a jump shot with 12:30 left. The Longhorns held UNI to one of six field goals and forced three turnovers in the first seven-plus minutes after the break.

UNI posted a seven-point possession midway through the first half on the way to a double-digit lead.

Jesperson hit a 3-pointer while Texas forward Shaquille Cleare got tangled up underneath the basket with UNI forward Bennett Koch. Cleare received a flagrant-one foul and Koch hit one of two free throws.

UNI retained possession and Morgan hit another 3-pointer that put the Panthers ahead 21-13.

On the Panthers' next trip down the floor, forward Klint Carlson found Morgan open on a back-door cut for a layup that put UNI ahead by 10. That came in the middle of a 19-4 run as the Panthers took a 33-17 lead.

Texas cut the deficit in half by the break as the Longhorns leaned heavily on Taylor for offense. Taylor scored 11 points in the final 5:13 of the first half to help Texas keep pace.

Longhorns guard Javan Felix hit a 3-pointer with six seconds left before halftime to drop UNI's lead to 44-36 at the break.

NOTES: Texas made its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and earned its 25th berth in the last 28 seasons. The Longhorns advanced to the tournament each of the past two seasons under former coach Rick Barnes before current coach Shaka Smart took over prior to this season. ... The last time UNI faced a Big 12 team in the NCAA Tournament, the ninth-seeded Panthers upset top-seeded Kansas 69-67 in the second round in 2010 in Oklahoma City. ... This was the first contest between UNI and Texas, however Smart had a 2-1 record versus the Panthers while he was at VCU.
Top Game Performances
 
Northern Iowa   Texas
Wes Washpun 17 Scoring Isaiah Taylor 22
Wes Washpun 3 Assists Isaiah Taylor 6
Wyatt Lohaus 6 Rebounds Demarcus Holland 6
Wes Washpun 7 Free Throws Made Isaiah Taylor 9
Bennett Koch 1 Steals Javan Felix 1
Wes Washpun 2 Blocks Prince Ibeh 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Northern Iowa 75 48.8 8-20 25-32 7 25 3 2 10
Texas 72 44.6 9-23 13-18 10 28 4 2 9