OU’s three-point specialist Jack Gohlke came off the bench and drained 10 shots from beyond the arc, finishing the game with 32 points. He missed the NCAA Tournament record by one, and was the fifth player to hit 10 three-point shots in one game in Big Dance history.
Gohlke is “the best, and he proved it to the world tonight,” said Greg Kampe, who has been OU’s basketball coach for 40 years.
Area OU alumni were thrilled with the win. “I could not be more proud of the team and about the outcome of the game,” says Bobby Schostak, chair of the OU Board of Trustees and an alum. “We get questions about enrollment and recruitment, and this win will help draw top student athletes, and it helps our student experience.”
Dominic Moceri, who holds an honorary degree from OU and is a partner of Moceri Cos., a large residential and community developer in Auburn Hills, says “the country got schooled by the Oakland University basketball team, and Gohlke is the professor.”
An avid golfer, Moceri plays golf with Kampe two to three times a year. “The win proves that no one should be surprised that Kampe is a sandbagger.”
Joe Bastian, an alum whose wife and three sons are OU graduates, says “it’s fun seeing your alma mater on the national stage and do that well.”
A co-creator and partner of Folktellers Studio in Clarkston, Bastian holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in technical communications. “It’s great to see OU do so well, especially when you consider that few people have heard of the school outside of Michigan.”
The Golden Grizzlies, a No. 14 seed, were a 13.5 underdog going into the contest and got off to a slow start, missing its first seven shots. Including Gohlke’s performance, OU righted the ship, played strong defense, and made 15 of 31 three-point shots en route to the shocking victory.
The win was the first NCAA Tournament win for Oakland University in four attempts in its 21 years as a Division 1 competitor.
“We wanted Kentucky ‘cause they’re the best,” says Kampe, “We wanted that and we wanted this stage, and our kids came through.”
The Golden Grizzlies move on to round two against No. 11 seed North Carolina State, which beat Texas Tech, 80-67. The Oakland-N.C. State game will tip off tomorrow at 7:10 p.m. and air on TBS and TruTV, and on radio station 1270-AM.
In Charlotte, N.C. at the Spectrum Center, No. 9 seed Michigan State University beat Mississippi State, 69-51. The Spartans will play the North Carolina Tarheels tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. on CBS TV and WRJ 760-AM on the radio.
