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Iowa Wins, Bohannon Ties Street

Story by Troy Weiman

Seniors Uhl and Rose honored, Bohannon with another act of class

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The last few games for Jordan Bohannon hadn’t gone as smoothly as he would have liked. Iowa’s top shooting guard wasn’t getting shots to fall, and was even held scoreless in the last game versus Minnesota.

He turned things around on Sunday in the season finale versus Northwestern, leading the Hawkeyes to a 77-70 win with 24 points on seven made three-pointers.

But the most important shot Bohannon took was one that didn’t go in.

It’s been well documented that Bohannon has been closing in on the program record for most consecutive free throws made. The record, 34 consecutive makes, is held by the late Chris Street.

Bohannon tied the record by hitting his first two free throws on the night. With 2:15 left in the game and Iowa up by eight, Bohannon went back to the line.

This shot didn’t look the same. He short-armed it, and he left it well short of the hoop. As his shot clanked off the front of the rim, he thought of Street; the record was still his.

“Obviously that’s not my record to have, it deserves to stay in his name,” Bohannon told BTN’s Jon Crispin after the game. “That’s what I’ve wanted to do, and it’s been an honor to get to know his family.”

After the game, Bohannon embraced Chris’s parents, Mike and Patty Street.

“They kept saying ‘Oh we want you to break it, we want you to break it,’” Bohannon said with a smile. “Still a lot of basketball left, so we’ll see.”

Bohannon has been struggling with this decision for nearly a month now. He hasn’t taken very many trips to the free throw line as the season has wound down, and he hoped he wouldn’t reach 34 makes during a game in which every point could make the difference.

He thought about it. He talked to his brothers and got advice. Most importantly, in his words, he “trusted God’s plan.”

Bohannon had made up his mind that he would miss the potential record-breaker, knowing his coach might not like it initially. But his coach certainly understands.

“I thought about discussing it with him, but I left it up to him, said head coach Fran McCaffery. “That’s what he chose to do, and I think it’s awesome.”

While Street’s impact is felt in Iowa City, others throughout the Big Ten were also affected by one of Iowa’s best.

Northwestern coach Chris Collins once received an offer from Iowa. On his official visit, he stayed with Street, and the two became friends.

“Hearing that makes me feel good because I know what a special guy Chris was,” Collins said. “Bravo to Jordan for doing that.”

What Bohannon did on Sunday was special. For many in attendance, it may go down as the most memorable missed shot they ever see.

There are things more important than sports. Bohannon is a young man with an innate sense of that.

The outstanding moment was particularly moving in an Iowa win. The Hawkeyes came out on fire to get the game started and were able to cruise past an injury-laden Northwestern team.

The Wildcats clawed their way back late in the game, but they last-ditch effort was too little too late.

While Bohannon lit it up from three-point range in the first half, it was Northwestern’s Scottie Lindsey who took over in the second half.

Lindsey finished with 32 points on 9-of-11 shooting from behind the arc, six of those coming in the second half. Lindsey tied the Carver-Hawkeye Arena record for most threes in a game, a feat accomplished just eight days ago last Saturday by Indiana’s Robert Johnson.

 

# Player PTS FG 3FG FT REB A PF TO MIN
03* BOHANNON 25 7-14 7-14 4-5 6 5 1 1 40
04* MOSS 12 4-8 2-3 2-2 2 1 1 0 26
05* COOK 14 5-7 0-0 4-5 11 6 3 3 32
25* UHL 0 0-1 0-1 0-0 2 0 0 1 8
55* GARZA 18 6-10 1-2 5-6 5 1 2 1 26
00 WAGNER 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0 2
01 DAILEY 0 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 1 0 0 16
02 NUNGE 0 0-5 0-2 0-1 3 0 1 0 9
11 ROSE 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
15 KRIENER 2 1-5 0-2 0-2 3 1 3 0 10
35 PEMSL 4 1-2 0-0 2-2 0 0 2 2 10
51 BAER 2 1-4 0-2 0-0 6 1 0 0 21

 

Dom Uhl and Charlie Rose were honored before the game on senior night. Uhl was given a start and recorded two blocks and two rebounds in his final game inside Carver.

With the game safely put away in the final seconds, Rose checked in and received a resounding ovation.

The win ends a six-game losing streak for Iowa and actually leaves the Hawkeyes with some momentum heading into the upcoming Big Ten Tournament at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Iowa (13-18, 4-14 Big Ten) will be the No. 12 seed in the tournament and play No. 13 Illinois on Wednesday at 4:30pm CST. The winner moves on to play fifth-seeded Michigan.

All games in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament can be seen on Big Ten Network.

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