Chase Johnston hadn't made a 2-pointer all season. His layup gave High Point a March Madness win
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Chase Johnston had tried four 2-pointers all season before he took a long pass from teammate Rob Martin, with a clear path to the rim in the closing seconds of High Point's March Madness opener. Given that history, the long-range specialist had no thoughts of trying anything flashy.
Johnston converted an easy layup for his first 2-point basket of the season, giving High Point the lead with 11. 7 seconds remaining, and the 12th-seeded Panthers held on from there to beat No. 5 seed Wisconsin 83-82 on Thursday for the first major upset of the NCAA Tournament .
“I was just trying to finish it, honestly. To be down one, get the ball thrown up to me, I was just like, ‘Get this in the rim,’” Johnston said. “We can go shock the world if we do this.
” He came in shooting 64 of 132 (48. 5%) from 3-point range but 0 of 4 inside the arc, and he had played more minutes (406) and scored more points (196) without making a 2-point shot than any player in the country. “It’s such justice that he gets all this national attention for never making a 2-point shot all season,” High Point coach Flynn Clayman said.
“Then the first one he makes is to get us to this win in the NCAA Tournament. ” Johnston finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers for the Panthers (31-4). His last 3 was the 415th of his career, one more than Stephen Curry and good for 22nd in Division I history.