FINAL: Gohlke's 10 3-pointers lead Oakland to 80-76 NCAA Tournament upset of Kentucky

From the opening tip, Kentucky appeared rattled. The team on the other side? Anything but.

During the Wildcats’ opening round game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Pittsburgh, the 14-seed Oakland Golden Grizzlies officially began its Cinderella run following an 80-76 win over 3-seed Kentucky.

Senior guard Jack Gohlke was unconscious against the ‘Cats, raining down 10 three-pointers (one shy of tying the NCAA Tournament record) en route to 32 points. Antonio Reeves countered with 27 points of his own for UK, but a more confident Oakland team flexed its way to the program’s biggest upset in school history.

The Golden Grizzlies went 15-31 from deep. Reed Sheppard finished with just three points on 1-5 shooting for Kentucky. Oakland’s bench finished with 19 more points than the ‘Cats. Tre Mitchell chipped in 14 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out.

And now, an offseason filled with questions awaits…

Jack Gohlke didn’t lack any confidence in the leadup to this game and he didn’t lose an ounce of it once the ball was tipped. The Oakland sharpshooter came out playing like a younger version of Klay Thompson: no dribbles, no two-pointers, all triples. Gohlke would hit seven of them in the first half (21 points, 7-13 from deep), a record against Kentucky during a single game in the NCAA Tournament.

Gohlke even missed his first two, but the following five went straight through the net — no matter how difficult the attempt. At one point, the senior guard even banked one in. Sometimes, it’s just your night, and Gohlke was playing like the sun would never come up again.

Thankfully for Kentucky, Antonio Reeves came to play. He had six of the Wildcats’ first 11 points and finished with 14 following 20 minutes of action. But after Gohlke hit his fourth triple of the evening, Oakland held a 19-13 advantage over a clearly-nervous Kentucky team. The ‘Cats continued to claw back though.

An and-one from Tre Mitchell (who had eight points and 11 rebounds at the break), made it just a two-point game in favor of the Golden Grizzlies at the 9:19 mark of the first half. A pair of freebies a few minutes later from Mitchell cut the Oakland lead down to just one. Reeves even tied the game soon after with a huge three-pointer.

Then, Rob Dillingham finally put Kentucky in front with a pull-up three-pointer, but not before another Gohlke shot from deep gave Oakland the edge once again. At the intermission, UK trailed 38-35.

Kentucky did a much better job on Gohlke in the second half, limiting him to just a pair of three-pointers through the first 12 minutes. The Wildcats even took the lead back in the opening minute of the half thanks to a Ugonna Onyenso and-one. It didn’t last long though. Oakland was shooting into the ocean.

The Golden Grizzlies extended its advantage to as many as seven on multiple occasions. With 8:09 in the game, Kentucky was behind 61-54 as Mitchell was doing everything in his power to keep his team alive. But fortune would soon begin to favor the ‘Cats. Reed Sheppard finally hit his first field goal, a triple, at the 6:03 mark to make it just a 61-59 edge for Oakland.

Gohlke then hit his 10th three-pointer of the night, just the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history to do so, which was followed up by a response from Reeves from deep. At the final media timeout, Oakland led 67-65.

Out of the timeout, Oakland canned a couple of free throws before Gohlke was fouled on a three-pointer by Sheppard. He would hit two of three to make it a 71-65 lead for the Golden Grizzlies. Justin Edwards responded with a three-pointer though — a one-possession game once again. The back-and-forth battle continued.

Trey Townsend hit a turnaround jumper. 73-68 Oakland. Reeves countered with a massive three-pointer, only for the Golden Grizzlies to respond with two more free throws. Dillingham came right back though with another triple — Kentucky now down just one, 75-74, with 63 seconds in the game. But DQ Cole drained the biggest shot of his life, a three with 28 ticks on the clock to make it a four-point contest.

Ball game. Oakland was the better team from start to finish. Kentucky’s once-thrilling season comes to a disappointing end.