Last year at this time, Jack Gohlke was playing D2 college hoops for the Hillsdale Chargers.
On Thursday, March 21, Gohlke had a performance for the Golden Grizzlies that will have OU basketball fans asking, ‘Where were you when Gohlke completely took over?’ for years.
Gohlke’s performance makes him the only player in PPG Paints Arena history to score 10 3-pointers. The original record was six made threes in the arena, which Gohlke broke in the first half.
Additionally, Gohlke became the fifth player in the history of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament to make 10 3s.
Suppose you want another fun fact. No other player with the last name Gohlke has ever cashed in on 10 triples against the University of Kentucky (UK) Wildcats in March Madness.
No matter how much room the Wildcats gave him, Gohlke found a way to convert from deep almost every single time, ultimately lifting the Grizzlies past the Wildcats.
“I’m always pretty much just locked into the game,” Gohlke said. “Obviously, I’m feeling the emotion of it for sure. But just focused on trying to make the next shot, trying to win for my teammates.”
With every three Gohlke attempted, he slowly won over a crowd inside the PPG Paints Arena. Although it was a sea of blue with an uncountable amount of UK fans in attendance, the loudest points of the game came when Gohlke fired off a three.
As soon as Gohlke came to check in at the 15:55 minute mark, he wasted no time getting up some attempts from deep.
Interestingly, after checking in, Gohlke never left the floor for the Grizzlies until the final buzzer sounded.
Just 25 seconds after checking in, Gohlke attempted his first three of the night — a miss. After Tuburu Naivalurua snagged the miss, Gohlke attempted another shot from deep — it was another miss.
However, the third time was the charm for Gohlke, as his third attempt went through without an issue. From that point on, it was Gohlke’s night.
At one point in the first half, just a few minutes after Gohlke’s first make from deep, Gohlke singlehandedly lifted the Grizzlies to a five-point lead — breaking the stalemate between OU and the Wildcats after Gohlke made three consecutive threes in the span of 1:39.
By the end of the first half, Gohlke attempted 13 threes. Seven of those 13 attempts went in, giving Gohlke 21 points before the start of the second half. Through just 16 minutes of play, Gohlke was just six points away from his D1 career-high of 27 points.
Notably, the Grizzlies led the Wildcats heading into the half 38-35. More than half of those 38 points came off the back of Gohlke.
Additionally, as the Grizzlies went into the break, both Gohlke and Oakland University started to trend on the social media platform X. The world could not help but tune into one of the most intriguing stories in the world of college basketball.
At the start of the second half, Gohlke was more patient on offense, but that didn’t stop him, nor make the crowd forget how critical he was to the Grizzlies’ success in the first half.
“Obviously, if I make that many shots in the first two-thirds of the game or whatever it is, they’re going to start guarding me differently, and I probably forced one or two that I shouldn’t have taken,” Gohlke said. “But I was trying to calm down a little bit and let my teammates carry me from that point.”
However, around the 14-minute mark, Gohlke made his eighth three of the game. As soon as his three found nylon, thousands of fans, regardless of the team they supported, were up on their feet once again—except Wildcats fans, of course.
Just a minute later, Gohlke packaged up another three and delivered it straight through the net once again. By this point, Gohlke tied his career-high of 27 points with over ten minutes left in a game against one of college basketball’s most dominant universities.
Despite being held scoreless for nearly the next ten minutes, Gohlke scored his 30th point at a critical crossroad for OU. With the Grizzlies up by just two points with under five minutes left in the game, Gohlke’s 3-pointer lifted the Grizzlies to a five-point lead.
Minutes later, Gohlke converted two free throws at the line after Wildcat guard Reed Sheppard fouled him on a 3-point attempt.
So, it was safe to say Gohlke gave OU fans, UK fans, and all who attended and watched the game at the PPG Paints Arena a night they will never forget.
“I don’t care too much about that,” Gohlke said about becoming a celebrity overnight. “I don’t know. I want to be a bigger celebrity after our team wins the next game. That’s really all I’m thinking about is tomorrow, our prep for either NC State or Texas Tech, and we’re going to go out there, and we’re going to win again.”