03/19/26 05:40:00
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03/19 17:38 CDT Chase Johnston hadn't made a 2-pointer all season. His layup
gave High Point a March Madness win
Chase Johnston hadn't made a 2-pointer all season. His layup gave High Point a
March Madness win
By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer
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.
"We've seen Johnston make some circus ones today off one leg," Wisconsin coach
Greg Gard said. "It's exactly what I saw on film. His ability to shoot the ball
and get it off quick."
High Point was a 10 1/2-point underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, and for
most of Thursday's game, Johnston filled his usual role in the Panthers'
offense --- coming off the bench and hunting long-range shots that he converts
with incredible efficiency. He went 4 of 6 beyond the arc, and his final 3
pulled High Point within 82-81 with 55 seconds to go.
He will inevitably shoot more 3s on Saturday, when High Point plays Arkansas
with a chance to reach the Sweet 16.
Johnston had stints at Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast before arriving at High
Point, private school of some 6,300 students in North Carolina, as a graduate
transfer.
"He's been an all-conference player two times already before he came here,"
Clayman said. "He was two times all-conference in the ASUN. They played at USC
when he was at Florida Gulf Coast, and he had 25 points and they won. He's been
doing this for a long time."
At those prior stops, more than half of Johnston's attempts were 3s. Last
season under Clayman's predecessor, Alan Huss, Johnston jacked up 167 3s and
only 30 2s.
This year, he all but abandoned his inside-the-arc game. And it's hard to argue
with the results.
"We asked him to be more efficient," Clayman said.
Clayman said Johnston doesn't get enough credit for his defense or all-around
skills. And Johnston is fine with being known primarily as a shooter --- albeit
a humble one.
"I wouldn't say my model my game after any specific player. I watch a bunch of
shooters like Duncan Robinson, Steph Curry, JJ Redick back when he was
playing," he said. "For the most part I just go in the gym, put up the work. I
trust my work, I trust the Lord, and allow everything else to take care of
itself after that."
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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