A fair number of brackets took substantial damage early on Thursday after 12-seeded High Point knocked off the 5-seed Wisconsin Badgers.
However, even if you’re sad over your bracket (or your Badgers, if you’re a Wisconsin fan), what happened after the game was truly awesome.
High Point guard Chase Johnston chipped in 14 points to his team’s 83-82 win. But his most memorable contribution came in his post-game speech.
“First and foremost, I wanna give all glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” Johnston declared. “We’re a group of guys built on John 15:13. We serve each other. We love each other. We’d die for each other.”
Johnston had to adapt and overcome to help get the Panthers over the top. During the season, he was known exclusively as a three-point shooter. To put it into perspective, just how much he was known as a three-point shooter, Johnston had not made a two-point field goal all season.
And so, of course, with less than 12 seconds left in the game, it would fall to the guard wearing the #99 (#99 for a guard? Really?) to hit the lay-up that would give the Panthers the lead.
Thanks to High Point’s win, the chances of anyone finishing this year’s NCAA Tournament with a perfect bracket are virtually nil. After the Panthers’ victory, over 25 million brackets took a hit. While just under 900,000 remained perfect after the first day, ESPN reports.
But don’t expect High Point to apologize.