NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 5, 2024) – March Madness has arrived. And his name is KJ Johnson.
Facing his former team in Nashville, Johnson and the University of North Alabama made national headlines with his game-winning buzzer-beater against Lipscomb on Tuesday to send the Lions to the semifinal round of the 2024 Atlantic Sun Conference Men's Basketball Championship.
With 12 seconds remaining, Johnson missed the front-end of a one-and-one and Lipscomb took advantage with a three-pointer by Owen McCormack to tie things up at 75-75. With four seconds to go, the fans raging and the clock ticking, Johnson rushed down the court and made a floater at the buzzer for the 77-75 victory, sending No. 6 UNA past No. 3 Lipscomb.
With the win, the Lions advance to Thursday's semifinal against No. 4 Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn. Game time will be announced prior to Thursday's game. Lipscomb, who entered the night with the highest NET ranking in the ASUN, is eliminated from the tournament.
This moment adds another to the portfolio of Johnson, who also hit a buzzer beater against Ole Miss last season and had the go-ahead basket in the final moments against Jacksonville State in November. He is the second-highest active career scorer in the ASUN with over 1,600 points.
The Lions had five players in double figures, including junior Dallas Howell with a team-high 14 points on 4-7 shooting from downtown. Johnson was joined by senior Damian Forrest, junior Will Soucie and graduate Tim Smith Jr. with 11 points each. Forrest also had his third double-double of the season with 10 rebounds.
The balanced scoring continued with junior guard Detalian Brown and sophomore all-conference guard Jacari Lane combining for 15 points. The Lions had 11 assists from six different players, including Lane with four.
Lipscomb was led by all-conference selection Will Pruitt with 20 points and Joe Anderson with 18 points. Both players went all 40 minutes for the Bisons.
In a tale of two halves, the first 20 minutes involved high-octane shooting both ways with both teams over 50 percent. UNA went 10-16 behind the arc in the first half, propelling the Lions to a 50-43 lead. Lipscomb scored the first two points, then UNA went on a 14-0 run to take the lead.
That lead would not change until the second half, as Lipscomb took a 64-63 lead with 6:16 remaining. Though the second half was lower scoring than the first, the final 20 minutes did not lack highlights. Johnson had his first big moment with a silencing three-pointer at the 6:00 mark to make it 66-64.
UNA had another moment with 1:05 remaining, as Smith Jr. sank a triple on an assist from Howell to make a one-point game a four-point game at 73-69. Lipscomb answered right away with a triple from Pruitt. Johnson hit a layup on the next possession, sparking a UNA timeout at 75-72. Pruitt missed the tying basket with 16 seconds to go, forcing Lipscomb to foul twice to get into the bonus.
Johnson went to the line and missed the first one, allowing Lipscomb to tie it with four ticks remaining. Staying composed despite the crowd coming unglued, Soucie sprinted over to inbound and hit Johnson in stride, who stormed up the court and hit the floater from the top of the key. Review confirmed the shot was off in time for the win.
UNA enters the ASUN Semifinal for the first time since 2021, where the Lions defeated FGCU to advance to the championship final against Liberty.
The winner of North Alabama and Austin Peay will advance to the 2024 championship against the winner of No. 10 Jacksonville to No. 2 Stetson. That game will be played on Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. on ESPN2. The highest seed will host.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
