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Omaha men’s basketball player Deng Mayar died on Saturday in a drowning incident, the school announced on Sunday. He was 22.
The incident took place at Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman, Utah on Saturday, according to Fox 13 Salt Lake City. Mayar and 21-year-old SA Mafutaga fought in the water. Mafutaga was able to reach the coast with the help of some spectators and tried to get to Mayar, but could not reach him. Emergency staff were called to the place.
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North Dakota Tip Deng Mayar (5) Skyver Iowa Forward Payton Sandfort (20) out of the way as he drives to the basket during a college basketball match between North Dakota Fighting Hawks and Iowa Hawkeyes on November 7, 2023 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA. (Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Emergency cycles couldn’t find him for hours until they used a immersable robot to locate his body, according to the outlets. Mafutaga was taken to a hospital but was expected to recover.
“Our entire program is destroyed to learn about Deng’s passing away,” said Omaha head coach Chris Crutchfield in a statement. “After competing against him for two years, we were excited to add him to our team and he made tremendous progress this summer. Deng was a pleasure to be nearby and made our culture better.
“We will miss him a lot. Jodi and I, along with our entire program, send our hearts and prayers to Deng’s family, friends and teammates.”
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Mayar transferred to Omaha after spending two seasons in North Dakota.
“Our hearts are broken to hear the tragic news about Deng’s passing,” North Dakota Head coach Paul Sather said in a statement. “He was a wonderful person with a heart the size of a gym. Our thoughts are with his parents and family with all his teammates from Und and Uno.
November 7, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; North Dakota is fighting for Hawks forward Deng Mayar (5) and Iowa Hawkey’s tips Ben Krick (23) Fight for Opening Tip Poffee during the first half of the Carver-Hawkeye Arena. (Jeffrey Becker/USA Today Sports)
“As competitive as he was on the field, he had a gentle nature and kind soul from the field. Deng will be very missed by all those who knew and loved him.”
