PORTLAND, Ore. – Chase Johnston made his first 2-point basket of the season with 11.7 seconds remaining and 12th-seeded High Point earned its first NCAA Tournament win with a 83-82 victory over Wisconsin in the West Region on Thursday.
Panthers forward Owen Aquino blocked Nick Boyd’s driving layup with 2.1 seconds left remaining and Cam’Ron Fletcher missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the Panthers’ Terry Anderson intercepted Wisconsin’s full-court pass to end the game.
Boyd had 27 points and John Blackwell scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half for fifth-seeded Wisconsin (24-11), which has lost its last four NCAA appearances as a No. 5 seed.
Johnston had 14 points, 11 in the second half, and was 4 of 6 from distance. He has made 69 field goals this season, 68 3-pointers.
Terry Anderson had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Fletcher had 14 points for 11 boards for the 12th-seeded Panthers (31-4), who were making their second tournament appearance in school history, their second straight.
Austin Rapp scored 12 points for Badgers, who led 70-62 on Boyd’s layup with seven minutes left before Johnston and Anderson made threes to cut the deficit to 70-68.
Boyd’s layup gave the Badgers an 82-78 lead before Johnston hit a three. Wisconsin could not get the ball inbounds with 54.6 seconds remaining, but Aquino missed a short shot to give Wisconsin possession.
Boyd missed a layup with 16 seconds remaining, and Johnston broke free to take a long pass for his winning layup.
High Point made 15 of 40 3-pointers. Johnston and Martin made four, and Fletcher hit three.
The Badgers were 9 of 23 from distance, 39.1 percent, after living on the perimeter most of the season. They made 400 3-pointers entering the tournament, the second-most in NCAA Division I behind Alabama (405).
Wisconsin led 15-5 on Blackwell’s 3-pointer five minutes into the game as High Point missed nine of its first 10 three-point attempts. Cam’Ron Fletcher’s three with 1:11 left in the first half tied it at 39-39 before Blackwell’s layup gave the Badgers a 41-39 lead at half.
–Jack Magruder, Field Level Media
