March Madness has shown its first potential Cinderella story, as Greg Kampe's Oakland Golden Grizzlies upset the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats in the first round of the tournament. The Golden Grizzlies defeated the Wildcats 80-76, an amazing victory for the Horizon League champions.
In the aftermath of the game, CBS Sports asked Greg Kampe how they achieved such success and what the victory meant:
"This guy right here. He had no conscience, we talked all week: ‘Just go shoot it, baby. You’re the best.’ And he’s the best, and he proved it to the world tonight... I said this is what we wanted, this stage. We wanted Kentucky because they’re the best – they’re the best. So, we wanted that, and we wanted this stage and our kids came through... We have a chance of a lifetime, this isn’t the end of it. … We’ve got more, and the only way we are going to win on Saturday is to stay focused and take it one at a time.”
Jack Gohlke on Greg Kampe's Oakland Golden Grizzlies' victory over Kentucky
Star player Jack Gohlke was asked afterward what it meant personally to have a game any player with dreams of having the chance to play:
“It’s just something I’ve worked so hard for my whole career, and coach just instills the confidence in me – gives me the freedom to go out there and play and influence the game in a positive way, I’m just having fun. We have tremendous crowd, tremendous stage. … It’s a dream. This is why players work so hard to get to this stage... We are not a Cinderella,”
Gohlke with 32 points scored in 36 minutes, led Oakland to victory tonight over the SEC powerhouse. Trey Towsend led them in rebounds and assists with 12 and 4, respectively. For the Wildcats, the top scorer was Antonio Reeves, with 27 points.
The Golden Grizzlies will face the No. 11-seeded NC State Wolfpack in a second-round matchup on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Will the Cinderella story continue?
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