The Madness is underway and buzzer-beaters are here.
The first conference tournament last-second heroics happened Tuesday night in the Atlantic Sun quarterfinals when North Alabama’s KJ Johnson hit a long two at the buzzer to knock off his former team, third-seeded Lipscomb, 77-75.
The Atlantic Sun Tournament also featured the first major upset with 10th-seeded Jacksonville knocking off the top seed in Eastern Kentucky.
The mid-major conference tournaments are almost always filled with dramatic moments since most of said conferences are one-bid leagues, making these win-or-go-home contests.
The sixth-seeded Lions led by as many as 14 points in Tuesday’s road game but missed a late free throw while leading 75-72 with 12 seconds remaining.
The Bisons took advantage of this opening when Owen McCormack tied the game with a 3 with 4.3 seconds remaining, but Lipscomb’s excitement did not last long.
Johnson then took the inbounds, dribbled toward the middle of the court while draped by a defender and leaped beyond the arc before releasing the ball inside the 3-point line.
The senior, who averages 14.2 points per game, fell to the court after releasing his shot and watched as it went through the hoop to stun the Bisons (20-12).
Johnson immediately rose to his feet and rushed to the other end of the court as his teammates swarmed him, and they celebrated their victory.
He finished with 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting.
That memorable moment had to carry extra meaning for Johnson since he played for Lipscomb for three years before transferring to North Alabama for these past two seasons.
North Alabama improved to 15-16 with the win and faces fourth-seeded Austin Peay on Thursday since the Atlantic Sun re-seeds after the quarterfinals.
This marks North Alabama’s first trip to the conference semifinals since 2021.
No. 2 Stetson is now the highest-remaining seed in the tournament, and hosts Jacksonville in Thursday’s other semifinal matchup.
Kennesaw State won the conference tournament last season before entering the NCAA Tournament as a 14-seed, ultimately losing to third-seeded Xavier.
