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Who is Chase Johnston? High Point guard is latest March Madness hero
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- Who is Chase Johnston? High Point guard is latest March Madness hero
There's Doug Edert , Jack Gohlke and now High Point 's Chase Johnston , the latest March Madness-born hero following No. 12 seed High Point's 83-82 upset win over No. 5 Wisconsin in the first round of the Men's NCAA Tournament.
Bench guard Chase Johnston, a 3-point specialist, scored his first 2-point shot of the entire season to give the Panthers an 83-82 win they didn't relinquish with 11 seconds left in the game. Owen Aquino then blocked Nick Boyd's shot on the following possession, ultimately sealing the win for High Point.
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"I wasn't really thinking whether it's a two or three," Johnston said after the game. "I was just trying to put it in and win this game."
REQUIRED READING: High alert! No. 12 High Point upsets Wisconsin in March Madness first round
Johnston, wearing No. 99, scored 14 points in 22 minutes of action, although the impact of his shots were huge down the stretch. He made a 33-foot 3-pointer to cut Wisconsin's lead to five points with 4:55 left in the second half, then hit two more 3-pointers late — one with 3:22 left and another with 55 seconds left — both of which pulled High Point within a point of the Badgers.
"It's been an unbelievable season," Johnston said after the game on the CBS broadcast. "This group of guys has built off John 15:13. We serve each other, we love each other, and we'd die for each other. I'm so grateful."
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Despite his heroics, Johnston wasn't High Point's star of the game — that honor goes to Rob Martin , who scored 23 points with 10 assists in the game. But Johnston's 3-pointers, including his shot from the March Madness logo, is a shoo-in to be included in the NCAA's "One Shining Moment" montage after the NCAA Tournament is over.
Here's everything to know of Johnston, a breakout star of March Madness:
Who is Chase Johnston?
Johnston is a seventh-year senior guard for High Point, who entered the Panthers' first-round win over Wisconsin on March 19 averaging 6.1 points and an assist per game on 47.1% shooting.
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He's on the court for one reason: to shoot 3-pointers. In fact, his game-winning transition layup against the Badgers with 11 seconds remaining was his first 2-point shot of the entire season. He averages 4.3 field goals per game in 2025-26, 4.1 of which are from 3-point range.
Johnston is, expectedly, prolific from distance. He's shooting a ridiculous 48.5% from 3-point range this season, and has a 39.8% mark on 3-pointers for his career.
To put his role into further perspective, he entered the game with only four 2-point attempts on the season, with four free-throw attempts, all of which he made.
Johnston is in his second season at High Point after transferring from Florida Gulf Coast, where he spent two seasons. He saw his first career action at Stetson and averaged 13.5 points and 15.2 points in his first two seasons with the Hatters, respectively, although he spent the fall semester in 2019 at Purdue-Fort Wayne.
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Chase Johnston age
Johnston is one of, if not the oldest player in the NCAA Tournament. He turned 26 years old on Jan. 11, as he was born on Jan. 11, 2000.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Chase Johnston? High Point guard becomes latest March Madness hero
