High Point University Stuns Wisconsin 83-82 for First NCAA Tournament Win

Chase Johnston had not made a single 2-point field goal all season. Then, with 11.2 seconds left at the Moda Center in Portland, he caught Rob Martin's cross-court throw off a defensive rebound and drove straight to the basket, converting the layup that gave No. 12 seed High Point an 83-82 lead it would not relinquish. The Panthers stunned No. 5 seed Wisconsin on March 19 for the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.

"It's a feeling you can't put into words," Johnston said. "To be on this stage and play a game like this is something you dream about."

The win was historic on multiple fronts. It was the program's first March Madness victory, its first win over a Power Four opponent, and it extended High Point's active winning streak to 15 games, the longest in the country. The Panthers, a mid-major program from the Big South, erased an eight-point deficit with five minutes remaining in the second half to pull it off.

Johnston, a veteran guard who has played at Stetson, Florida Gulf Coast, and the past two seasons at High Point, was the engine of that comeback despite coming off the bench. He buried a 3-pointer from near half-court to cut Wisconsin's lead to five, then made two more from behind the arc before Martin's defensive rebound set up the final sequence. Johnston finished with 14 points, 11 of them in the second half, going 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He carries 415 career 3-pointers, second-most among all active Division I players.

"When Rob threw that up, I wasn't thinking whether it was a 2 or a 3," Johnston said. "I was just trying to put it in and win this game."

Coach Flynn Clayman had asked Johnston to accept a bench role earlier in the season. "His willingness to take that role and keep leading, and then at the end of the season to be doing what he's doing, speaks to how selfless these guys are," Clayman said. After the buzzer, Clayman was direct about what comes next: "I'm proud of these dudes. We're not just here to win one game, we're here to get to the Sweet 16."

Wisconsin had a final chance to answer but failed to score in the closing seconds, sending High Point fans at watch parties across the city into celebration. Tommy Rodgers, a program alumnus, captured the weight of the moment: "Watch what turned out to be the biggest game in High Point basketball history. So, 55 tries, I think, of trying to beat a Power Four conference team, and we finally get one done. So, big deal. It's awesome." His thoughts in the final seconds were considerably more anxious: "Don't mess this up."

Brandel Kimmons, a High Point native who watched with a crowd of fans, called the atmosphere "awesome, remarkable," adding, "It's just mind blowing." Morgan Qubein, another fan at a local watch party, was already looking ahead: "This is the coolest thing ever. We are so pumped to go to round two." Sophomore Lucy Yoder echoed the sentiment: "Not a lot of people were expecting them to beat Wisconsin, so it was really good to see all their hard work is finally paying off."

High Point now advances to the Round of 32 for the first time in program history, awaiting the winner of No. 4 Arkansas and No. 13 Hawai'i on Saturday, March 21.