PITTSBURGH — DJ Burns Jr. had six points and one crucial assist in overtime and No. 11 seed North Carolina State outlasted No. 14 Oakland 79-73 on Saturday night to secure an improbable Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region.
Burns finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for the Wolfpack (24-14), who won their seventh straight postseason game between the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Michael O’Connell had 12 points and a season-high eight assists, and DJ Horne, Casey Morsell and Mohamed Diarra each supplied 11 points.
Now that a program that finished below .500 in conference play clinched its first Sweet 16 since 2015, Burns was asked for his message to the Wolfpack’s doubters.
“I’m just saying welcome back,” Burns said. “They didn’t really believe in us. They probably still don’t, but that doesn’t matter to us. We’re just going to stay together.”
Oakland (24-12) clawed back in the final minutes of regulation before its underdog story ended with an 11-1 NC State run in overtime. Trey Townsend scored 24 of his 30 points after halftime and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Jack Gohlke, Oakland’s first-round hero who made 10 3-pointers against Kentucky, went 6-for-17 from deep Saturday to finish with 22 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Grizzlies.
Horne fed Burns in transition for a layup that put NC State ahead 68-67. Townsend made two free throws, but on the Wolfpack’s next possession, Burns had an easy putback of a missed 3-pointer.
“If that ball hits the rim and goes where it should have gone, we get the rebound, (and) we’re in really good position,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe said. “Instead, it hits right in the front of the rim and comes right down to the big guy and he lays it in. … Those are the bounces of the game.”
Horne — who had been held scoreless after scoring NC State’s first seven points of the game — hit a baseline jumper for a three-point lead. After Oakland cut it to 72-70, Burns’ pass to Jayden Taylor for a 3-pointer launched a 7-0 run that sealed the win.
Taylor (five points in 12 minutes) subbed in during overtime after big men Ben Middlebrooks and Diarra fouled out.
“It got tough at the end because we didn’t have anyone else that we could throw in the game,” NC State coach Kevin Keatts said. “So we decide to go four guards, and it actually helped us on the offensive game because Jayden Taylor was able to knock down that 3 in the corner.”
The Wolfpack led 61-57 when Gohlke shook off Morsell and knocked down his sixth 3-pointer. On Oakland’s next possession, Townsend went to work on the low block and scored through contact — giving Oakland its first lead of the game — before he added the ensuing free throw for a 63-61 edge with 2:49 left.
The teams traded free throws before O’Connell drove the lane with the shot clock ticking down, made a layup while getting fouled and added the free throw to give NC State a 66-64 lead. Gohlke’s free throws with 41 seconds left were enough to force overtime.
Rocket Watts’ jumper for Oakland just before the first-half buzzer made it a 32-29 NC State lead at intermission.
Townsend then accounted for Oakland’s first eight points of the second half. DQ Cole’s steal set up Gohlke for a 3 in transition, and Townsend added a putback to tie the score at 42 with 12:49 to go.
It was tied again two minutes later when Burns, triple-teamed in the paint, kicked it to Morsell for a corner 3. O’Connell hit a 3 on the next possession for a 51-45 Wolfpack advantage.
NC State was still up six when Gohlke drained a 3-pointer through contact for a four-point play with 6:17 to go.
Gohlke, a Division II grad transfer, saw his college basketball career come to an end.
“I got faith that Coach Kampe is going to keep building, and this program is going to keep getting better,” Gohlke said of the Horizon League champs. “I think this is just the start for this era of the program.”
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
