Tre Dudley hit a shot with five seconds remaining to give Johnson a 73-71 upset win over Carrollton on Friday in the first round of the Class AAA state tournament.
Dudley scored a team-high 22 points for Johnson, which made 12 3-pointers and trailed by nine points with 3:30 left to play in the game.
“I’m elated, but exhausted,” Johnson coach Jeff Steele said. “Our whole game plan was to keep it close and hit some shots at the end.”
The Knights did just that on a Grant Cagle 3-pointer that gave them a one-point lead with 1:30 left to play. Cagle and Chris Henry each finished with 15 points for Johnson (16-12).
Carrollton (22-4) had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but missed a shot from the top of the key as time expired.
Johnson visits Riverwood (18-12) on Tuesday in the second round.
