College Basketball Player Deng Mayar Dead At 22 After Drowning

Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha basketball player Deng Mayar, who was swimming with a friend, died Saturday in a tragic drowning accident. He was only 22 years old.

Police received a 911 call at 5:45 PM on Saturday stating two individuals were in distress at Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman, Utah -- about 25 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

Law enforcement said Mayar's friend, Sa Mafutaga, saw him struggling after reaching the shore, so he reentered the water in an attempt to save Deng, who went under about 35 yards away.

Bystanders saw Mafutaga -- who was unable to reach his friend -- and attempted to help, also entering the water during the rescue attempt.

After several hours of searching, the Unified Fire Authority, South Jordan Fire Department, and Utah Highway Patrol's dive team located Mayar at 11:00 PM.

He was pronounced dead.

Police are still investigating the incident ... and say "Blackridge Reservoir will remain closed to all patrons until further notice by Herriman City."

Mayar, a 6'8" forward out of Salt Lake City, spent his first two seasons as a college hooper at the University of North Dakota.

He transferred to Omaha this past offseason and was expected to play this fall.

"Our entire program is devastated to learn of Deng's passing," Omaha coach Chris Crutchfield said.

"After competing against him for two years, we were elated to add him to our team and he made tremendous progress this summer. Deng was a joy to be around and made our culture better."

"We will miss him greatly. Jodi and I, along with our entire program, send our hearts and prayers to Deng's family, friends, and teammates."