Gohlke sinks 10 treys as Oakland stuns No. 3 Kentucky

Jack Gohlke drilled 10 three-pointers en route to 32 points and DQ Cole buried the final triple of the game to clinch No. 14 seed Oakland's 80-76 upset of No. 3 seed Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

The Golden Grizzlies (24-11) led for nearly the entire second half and went shot for shot with the heavily favoured Wildcats (23-10) down the stretch. Oakland advances to the Round of 32 for the first time since joining Division I while handing Kentucky its second first-round exit in three years.

Gohlke, a graduate transfer from Division II Hillsdale, earned his place in NCAA Tournament lore. All 20 of his field-goal attempts came from three-point range, and he came one shy of tying the tournament singlegame record of 11 triples set by Jeff Fryer of Loyola Marymount in 1990.

Oakland, the Horizon League champion, will face No. 11 NC State in the second round Saturday. NC State beat No. 6 Texas Tech 80-67 late Thursday.

Gohlke said in his post-game TV interview that the Golden Grizzlies were not a Cinderella. He told reporters later that has always been his mindset.

"Obviously we come in (as) the underdog by all measures; but, as a player, you can't think that way. You gotta go out there, you gotta think you have the same talent level as them," Gohlke said. "I know they have draft picks, and I know I'm not going to the NBA. But I know on any given night, I can compete with those type of guys, and our team can compete with those type of guys."

In his 40th year leading the program, coach Greg Kampe guided Oakland to its first non-play-in tournament win.

"There was never a doubt in my mind that this was gonna be a game," Kampe said. "Now, I had doubt that we would win, but there was never a doubt that this would be a game, because I've been with this team since June and I know who they are."

Kentucky coach John Calipari told CBS post-game that the loss was "painful," just two years after his program fell to 15th-seeded Saint Peter's in the first round.

"The reason is there are other times you lose a game and you know your team is what it is," Calipari said. "But this team I really felt was built for this moment. Even though we were young – I knew that could catch us."