High Point guard Chase Johnston gave all glory to Jesus Christ following his team’s upset victory in the NCAA tournament against the Wisconsin Badgers. Johnston hit the game-winning shot to lift the Panthers to an 83-82 victory. “I just want to give all glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It’s been an unbelievable season,” Johnston said. “Just a group of guys that’s built off John 15:13. We serve each other, we love each other, and we’d die for each other,” he continued. John 15:13 says (CSB): “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” Check it out: NEW: High Point's Chase Johnston gives glory to Jesus Christ, mentions John 15:13 after upsetting Wisconsin in March Madness. "I just want to give all glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It's been an unbelievable season." "Just a group of guys that's built off, John… pic.twitter.com/avsDK26I2K — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 19, 2026 ESPN shared further: Chase Johnston’s first 2-point basket of the season was the biggest of his college career. The sharpshooting guard of No. 12 seed High Point had gone 0-for-4 from 2-point range until the final seconds of his team’s matchup against No. 5 Wisconsin, when he converted a go-ahead layup with 11.2 seconds left to lift the Panthers to an 83-82 upset win in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Moda Center on Thursday. “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.” Johnston’s basket made High Point the first Big South team to win an NCAA tournament game since the 2018 First Four, when Radford defeated Long Island. The Panthers are also the first Big South team to defeat a higher seed since No. 11 Winthrop defeated No. 5 Notre Dame in the round of 64 in 2007. High Point, a 10.5-point underdog, and Miami (Ohio) were the only 30-win teams not to earn top-three seeds (Arizona, Duke, Michigan, Gonzaga). Both won via upset in their first NCAA tournament games. Johnston wears #99 to represent The Parable of the Lost Sheep, where Jesus leaves the ninety-nine to find the one lost sheep. “The backstory has everything to do with Jesus leaving the ninety-nine to find the one. I was trying to find any other way to share the Gospel and ninety-nine came in my mind,” Johnston explained. “A lot of people will ask it’s a random number, it’s a unique number, not a lot of people wear it. So I chose that because there are two parables in the Bible where Jesus is talking to his disciples and he gives a story of a man who has ninety-nine sheep. He leaves those ninety-nine righteous sheep to find that one lost sheep that went away and finds more joy in finding that one lost sheep that came back home than the ninety-nine,” he continued. Footage below: High Point G Chase Johnston, who hit the game-winner in their upset win over Wisconsin, wears jersey #99 to represent The Parable of the Lost Sheep where Jesus leaves the 99 to find the 1 pic.twitter.com/B4cEwAqYLL — Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) March 19, 2026 More from the Associated Press: 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.”