'It lived up to the hype': Oakland's storybook season ends in OT loss to N.C. State

Pittsburgh — Poker, golf, gin rummy, and most of all basketball, Greg Kampe hates to lose.

But he loves the players he just lost with.

"The hard part for me is, I've done this a long time, and I'm going to tell you, in this day and age of kids leaving and the lack of respect for authority and, 'What about me,' 'What can I make,' and all the people telling everybody that's how you should be, you know, the way we're going," Kampe said, softly, here Saturday night, after his team's exit from the NCAA Tournament. "To have a team like I had, 15 guys that just cared about each other. ... It was a joy in this day and age to walk into the office every day and know I'm lucky to get to go in that gym and be with this group of kids. And that's probably what hurts the most right now, and I know that that's over.

"And, man, I'm going to miss that."

Oakland, the darling underdog of this NCAA Tournament, went toe to toe, and more often elbow to elbow, with the champions of the ACC, North Carolina State, but couldn't get a shot off at the end of regulation, and then saw it slip away in overtime, as the Wolfpack won, 79-73, before a raucous and decidedly pro-Oakland crowd at PPG Paints Arena.

The loss brought an end to the best season in Oakland history, with regular-season and tournament championships in the Horizon League, and then the program's first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 — against mighty Kentucky, of all teams.

Oakland players said before the Kentucky game that they were no Cinderella, and they said it again after the Kentucky win, and on this night, they were anything but.

"Well, for those who are not here in Pittsburgh," N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said, "I'll start off by saying that Oakland is as good as advertised."

Oakland senior forward Trey Townsend, the Horizon League regular-season player of the year and the Horizon League tournament MVP, had 30 points and 13 rebounds, for his 10th double-double of the season, going against a mountain of obstacles on N.C. State's side, including the 6-foot-9, 275-pound graduate-student center with the Zach Randolph body, DJ Burns Jr.

But Townsend didn't get a chance at the one shot Kampe wanted most, at the end of regulation, with the score tied at 66. Burns missed a jumper with 18 seconds to go, and Townsend corralled the rebound. Rather than let the team go — and calling the play from the sidelines; the ball always was going to Townsend for a winning layup, a trip to the free-throw line, or overtime — Kampe called timeout to think it over with 15 seconds to go.

He wanted the offense to start running between 12 and 10 seconds, but N.C. State defended the entry pass tight, and played tough defense at the top of the key. With 2 seconds left, Conway threw the ball to Townsend, but it was errant, and out of bounds.

"It's my fault," Kampe said.

The Wolfpack got one last heave, with 1.7 seconds left. The three-quarter Hail Mary just clanked off the rim.

In overtime, despite N.C. State losing two big men, junior forwards Mohamed Diarra and Ben Middlebrooks, to foul-outs, the Wolfpack, on a magical ride of their own. Oakland led, 69-68 on a couple of Townsend free throws, and on the other end junior guard Jayden Taylor missed a 3-pointer, but he missed it so bad, it went under the rim and right into the waiting arms of Burns, who put it in for the led. An Oakland turnover led to a bucket by graduate-student guard DJ Horne, before N.C. State took took a 75-70 lead when Taylor made a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:13 left.

Oakland senior guard Jack Gohlke, the story of this NCAA Tournament after his 3-point barrage against Kentucky who earned a loud roar when he came off the bench early in the game, missed a 3-pointer on the other end, and Burns then was fouled. The big man made both, and for the first time all night, Oakland's fan base, which grew considerably over Thursday's crowd, fell silent.

BOX SCORE: North Carolina State 79, Oakland 73, OT

Junior swingman DQ Cole made a 3-pointer for Oakland with 14 seconds left, and N.C. State threw the ball away on the inbounds, given the Golden Grizzlies one last sliver of hope. But Gohlke missed one last 3-pointer, and that was that.

"Kampe said before the season even started that this tournament is nothing like you could ever imagine, and once we got here, that was true," Townsend said. "It lived up to the hype.

"I just really wanted everyone to appreciate every single moment of this whole experience because not everyone gets to play in this tournament, not everyone gets to win a game in this tournament.

"Obviously, we lost today, but I still want to remember everything that I've gone through with these guys. I'm sure everyone will. That's been the biggest thing, is appreciating every moment.

"These are the best years of your life, and I think we've been making the most of our time here.

"And I hope we left an everlasting mark on this program and this university."

As Townsend emerged from the locker room, 20 minutes after the game, he greeted and hugged every Oakland official and administrator lining the hallway, including athletic director Steve Waterfield and president Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, wearing a frown, but holding glittery-gold pom-poms. Gohlke eventually emerged, too, and, heading to the postgame presser, put his arm around Townsend. Kampe walked in front, shaking his head.

Not at the effort, but at the outcome. Three hours earlier, the sky seemed the limit. Then, it was over.

N.C. State led for almost the entire game, and Oakland never led until Townsend buried a drop-step right-handed hook to put Oakland up, 63-61, with 2:49 left in regulation. Townsend, frustrated by the lack of foul calls on the inside — and to be fair, refs let both teams get away with plenty — he even took two 3-pointers, and made them both. Those were just the 11th and 12th 3-pointers he made all year. Fellow senior big Chris Conway also made a 3-pointer.

But Oakland, on a whole, was just 12-for-35 on 3-pointers, against an N.C. State team that came in as one of the worst 3-point defenders in the country. Gohlke had 22 points, but was just 6-for-17 on 3-pointers.

"I wanted to go to Dallas really bad," said Gohlke, who had 54 points in two games here — leading to a new massive Instagram following and even some NIL cash — and had eight rebounds against N.C. State. "All the guys wanted to go to Dallas really bad.

"But, I told them in the locker room, the thing I wanted the most really was to see everyone at practice on Monday.

"That's the thing I'm going to miss the most is just seeing my guys every single day."

Gohlke, the Horizon League sixth man of the year in his one season at Oakland after transferring from Division II Hillsdale, stayed long after Oakland's game was over to take dozens of selfies with his new fans in the stands.

No. 14 seed Oakland (24-12) falls one victory short of being the third 14 seed to make the Sweet 16, while No. 11 N.C. State (24-14) moves on to the South Regional in Dallas, where it will face No. 2 Marquette or No. 10 Colorado. Saturday's win was the Wolfpack's seventh in 12 days.

Kampe made no bones about the game plan against N.C. State: Run and tire the players out. But the Wolfpack kept their legs, even Burns, who impressed with his quick moves, soft touch and quick passing. He finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Graduate-student guard Michael O'Connell had 12 points, and three other players had 11, including Diarra, who also had 13 rebounds. N.C. State won the rebounding battle, 46-34.

And N.C. State won in the end. But Oakland won over a lot of hearts, and a lot of doubters, and that ain't nothing.

Even if losing stings, and, boy, Kampe hates to lose.

"I think we're good for college basketball. I think we really were," said Kampe, whose 700th career win will wait till early next season, his 41st at Oakland. His 40th was highlighted by three seniors in Townsend, Conway and Blake Lampman who played a combined 13 years for him.

"There's 360-some Division I coaches. That's all the jobs there are in the country, and I would say a lot of those guys are envious, not of Oakland, or not of what we do, and not of me, but of our team. And not the winning or losing, but having that as a team, because what I talked about in this day is really unusual.

"Dean Smith, for all the coaches in the world that read his books and know who he is, he had a mantra of, 'Play hard, play smart and play as one.' And I think we epitomized that. I really do."

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984