NCAA BASKETBALL: Chase Johnston's first 2-pointer allows No. 12 High Point to upset No. 5 Wisconsin

PORTLAND, Ore. – Chase Johnston made his first 2-point basket of the season with 11.7 seconds remaining, lifting 12th-seeded High Point to an 83-82 win over Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament West Region on Thursday.

Panthers forward Owen Aquino blocked Nick Boyd's layup with 2.1 seconds left, and after Cam'Ron Fletcher missed a free throw, Terry Anderson intercepted Wisconsin's full-court pass to seal the victory.

Boyd led Wisconsin with 27 points, while John Blackwell scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half. The fifth-seeded Badgers (24-11) have now lost their last four NCAA appearances as a No. 5 seed.

Johnston finished with 14 points, including 11 in the second half, and made 4 of 6 from three-point range. "It's such justice that he gets all this national attention for never making a 2-point shot all season, and the first one he makes is to get us here," High Point coach Flynn Clayman said. Johnston added, "I was just like, ‘Just get this in the rim. We can go shock the world if we do this.’"

Rob Martin had a team-high 23 points and 10 assists, Anderson posted 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Fletcher contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Panthers (31-4), making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. They will face No. 4 seed Arkansas in the second round.

High Point overcame a late deficit after Boyd's layup gave Wisconsin an 82-78 lead. Johnston responded with a clutch three-pointer, and after Boyd missed a layup with 16 seconds left, Johnston converted a long pass for the game-winning layup.

The Panthers made 15 of 40 three-pointers, with Johnston and Martin hitting four each and Fletcher three. Wisconsin, which relied heavily on the perimeter all season, shot 9 of 23 (39.1%) from distance, far below their 400 three-pointers entering the tournament, second-most in Division I.

"The 3-point shooting, yes, I mean, we've seen Johnston make some circus ones today," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. "They hit timely threes. It took that type of shooting for them to counter what we were doing. It's credit to them."

High Point trailed early, 15-5, on Blackwell's three-pointer but rallied to tie the first half at 39 before Wisconsin led 41-39 at halftime. -Jack Magruder, Field Level Media/Reuters