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Who is Jack Gohlke? Get to know Oakland's NCAA Tournament hero from Pewaukee

The biggest star of the first day of the NCAA Tournament — and a new March Madness legend — is from Wisconsin.

Jack Gohlke dropped an incredible stat line to lead No. 14 seed Oakland's 80-76 upset of No. 3 seed Kentucky on Thursday in Pittsburgh. Gohlke came off the bench to score 32 points, going 10-for-20 on three-pointers, seven in the first half.

His 10 three-pointers were just one shy of the NCAA Tournament single-game record, set in 1990 by Loyola Marymount's Jeff Fryer against Michigan.

Gohlke and the Golden Grizzlies will face North Carolina State in the second round Saturday.

More: Social media reacts to Pewaukee grad Jack Gohlke and Oakland Golden Grizzlies win over Kentucky

Here's what to know about Gohlke:

Oakland's Jack Gohlke is from Pewaukee

Gohlke, a 6-foot-3 guard, is from Pewaukee and played at Pewaukee High School.

A fun fact from his time in high school: Gohlke was a senior on the Pewaukee team that handed former Whitnall star and current Miami Heat star Tyler Herro his final loss in high school.

Thursday night, he eliminated Herro's college team, too.

Gohlke now joins fellow Pewaukee sports stars JJ and TJ Watt on the national stage.

Jack Gohlke is a three-point shooter — no, really

The three-point specialist has had plenty of practice from behind the arc this season — of the 355 shots he's taken this season, 347 have been three-pointers, including all 20 of his shots against Kentucky. His 347 attempts from three are the second-most in Division I this season.

Gohlke is shooting 37.8% on three-pointers. Including the eight two-point shots he's taken, he's shooting 38% overall.

Oakland's Jack Gohlke made 10 three-pointers and scored 32 points in the Golden Grizzlies' upset win over Kentucky.
Oakland's Jack Gohlke made 10 three-pointers and scored 32 points in the Golden Grizzlies' upset win over Kentucky.

Jack Gohlke typically doesn't start for Oakland

Like he has for much of the season, Gohlke came off the bench in Thursday's game, though he played 36 minutes.

He started the first 14 games and has mostly been the first reserve in for Oakland. Nevertheless, he has played at least 30 minutes in the last seven games and has averaged 31 minutes a game.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 21: Jack Gohlke #3 of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies reacts during the first half of a game against the Kentucky Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 21, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 21: Jack Gohlke #3 of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies reacts during the first half of a game against the Kentucky Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 21, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Jack Gohlke is in his first season at Oakland, but his sixth in college overall

The 24-year-old Gohlke played his first five seasons at Hillsdale College, a Division II school in Hillsdale, Michigan.

He redshirted as a freshman, then played for four seasons before transferring to Oakland and taking his COVID-related fifth season.

As a senior at Hillsdale, he averaged 14.2 points per game and shot 40% on an average of 8.2 three-pointers taken per game. In his Hillsdale career, he averaged 7.8 points per game as a reserve as a freshman and sophomore, a part-time starter as a junior and a starter as a senior.

In his bio page for Oakland, he said his favorite basketball memory was winning the regional tournament with Hillsdale in 2022. He may update that after Thursday night.

Jack Gohlke played with another Division I college player, Grant Basile, at Pewaukee

Gohlke was honorable-mention all-state as a high school senior at Pewaukee, where he played with all-state first-teamer Grant Basile.

Basile, a 6-9 forward, played four seasons at Wright State, then transferred to Virginia Tech for his final year, the 2022-23 season. He averaged 16.4 points per game at Virginia Tech and was all-Atlantic Coast Conference honorable mention. Basile's playing professionally in Italy this season.

JR Radcliffe contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Who is Jack Gohlke? Oakland's March Madness hero is from Pewaukee