WATCH: North Alabama's KJ Johnson hits tough game-winner to eliminate No. 3 Lipscomb from ASUN Tournament

KJ Johnson hit a tough jumper at the buzzer to lift the No. 6 University of North Alabama to a 77-75 win over the No. 3 Lipscomb Bisons in the quarterfinal of the Atlantic Sun Championship on Tuesday night.

Johnson, a transfer out of Lipscomb, knocked in a running one-handed floater just inside the top of the key to beat the buzzer and gave the Lions a semifinal berth in the Atlantic Sun tournament.

The 6-foot-3 senior caught an inbound pass with 4.3 seconds remaining and attacked off the dribble. He then launched a floater with Lipscomb's Will Pruitt challenging him. The shot went in causing the crowd inside the Allen Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, to erupt in celebration.

KJ Johnson exacts revenge against his former team

Johnson completed the first true buzzer-beater of the 2023-24 college basketball postseason and it could not have come at a better time.

The former two-time Tennessee Class AA Mr. Basketball redeemed himself after missing the front end of a 1-and-1 with 12 seconds left. The missed foul shot allowed Owen McCormack to hit a game-tying three-pointer.

Johnson turned up big down the stretch and prevented North Alabama from losing the game after wasting an early 12-point lead.

He finished with 11 points, on 4-of-13 shooting from the field, five rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes of action.

The Atlantic Sun logo on the floor.

North Alabama relies on balanced scoring to beat Lipscomb

Five players scored in double-figures for the Lions. Dallas Howell scored 14 points to lead North Alabama's offense as Johnson, Damian Forrest, Will Soucie, and Tim Smith Jr added 11 points each to support the offense of the Atlantic Sun's sixth-ranked team.

North Alabama raced to a 14-2 lead early in the game and the lead climbed to as high as 14 points at 31-17. The Bisons slowly chipped away the deficit, using their defense to stymie the Lions' offensive attack.

Lipscomb worked on trimming North Alabama's lead in the second half and took a 69-68 lead after McCormack made a hook shot with 2:13 remaining. Johnson and Smith scored five straight points to hand the Lions a four-point edge.

Will Pruitt responded with a triple to bring the deficit back to one and Johnson responded with a layup to make it 75-72.

Pruitt led the Bisons' offense with 20 points. Joe Anderson, AJ McGinnis, and McCormack added 18, 15, and 12 markers, respectively.

Lipscomb dropped to 20-12 after the loss.

The Lions will next face second-seed Stetson in the Atlantic Sun semifinals Thursday. The winner of the match will face the victor of the other semifinal match between No. 4 Austin Peay and No. 10 Jacksonville on Sunday.