Dunk of the year nominee: Wes Washpun takes flight over Evansville

Northern Iowa senior Wes Washpun blew by Evansville guard Jaylon Brown with five minutes remaining in a Missouri Valley Conference game Wednesday night and saw a lot of open floor between him and the basket. What came next was a thing of beauty, unless, of course, you’re an Evansville fan.

Washpun accelerated into the middle of the lane as he saw 6-foot-10 center Egidijus Mockevicius moving in to protect the rim. Washpun leaped and threw down a fantastic, hard, one-handed jam to give his team a one-point lead in a tight game.

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The dunk provided Washpun two of the 14 points he scored to lead Northern Iowa to a 57-54 victory, but it wasn’t the most important drive to the basket of the night for him. That came in the final minute when he drove for a layup with 27 seconds remaining that put his team on top for good.

The Panthers have fallen off badly since knocking off a pair of top-five ranked teams earlier in the season. The win Wednesday moved them to 13-11 overall and 5-6 in conference play. We’re guessing this one is going to make the highlight reel for the team banquet at the end of the year no matter where Washpun and his teammates go from here.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo