PORTLAND, Ore. — Chase Johnston made his first two-point basket of the season, a layup with 11.7 seconds left that gave No. 12 seed High Point an 83-82 win over fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Johnston finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers for the Panthers, who were 10 1/2 points underdog, according to Sportsbook. He came up shooting 64-of-136 (47.1%) from 3-point range but 0-of-4 inside the arc.
Rob Martin scored 23 points and had 10 assists for the Panthers, who will face either No. 13 seed Hawaii or No. 4 seed Arkansas in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday.
Nick Boyd finished with 27 points for Wisconsin (24-11). John Blackwell added 22 points and 10 rebounds.
After Johnston’s bucket gave High Point the lead, Owen Aquino blocked a layup by Boyd. The Panthers’ Cam’Ron Fletcher was fouled and missed a free throw, giving the Badgers a chance with one second left, but Andrew Rohde’s long pass was stolen by Terry Anderson and the celebration was on for High Point and first-year coach Flynn Clayman.
High Point earned a berth in the tournament by winning the Big South title for the second straight season. It was the first March Madness win for the Panthers, who lost to Purdue in the first round last year.
Klayman took over for Alan Haas, who left to become an assistant at Creighton with the stipulation that he would be Greg McDermott’s successor.
High Point was resilient against Wisconsin’s duo of Blackwell and Boyd, taking an early second-half lead 43-41. Both Badgers guards have averaged 19 extra points this season.
The Badgers pulled ahead 56-50, but High Point tied the score at 58 points thanks to Martin’s 3-pointer. After a Wisconsin turnover, Martin missed a layup and on the next possession, Rudd hit a 3 for the Badgers.
Brayden Carrington’s 3 extended Wisconsin’s lead to 68-61 with 7:45 remaining. Terry Anderson’s dunk put the Panthers within 72-70 with 3:48 remaining. After Boyd answered with a pair of free throws, Johnston hit another 3-pointer to bring the Panthers within one point.
Johnston hit his fourth 3 to pull High Point within 82-81 with 55 seconds left.
The Badgers, making their 29th tournament appearance, lost in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals to Michigan.
