By GARY B. GRAVES AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — Saint Peter’s acted like it had been there before.

After the 15th-seeded Peacocks bounced storied Kentucky from the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night, they calmly exchanged handshakes with the Wildcats before heading over to the opposite sideline to celebrate with a small contingent of true believers.

The tiny Jesuit school from Jersey City, New Jersey, got 27 points from Daryl Banks III as it took down basketball royalty, beating second-seeded Kentucky, 85-79 in overtime, and sending countless brackets into the digital wastebasket.

“It was an amazing feeling,” Banks said. “You grow up you watching March Madness, the tournament, so to let that sink in – knowing the game was over – it felt really good.”

The Peacocks became the 10th No. 15 seed to win a first-round game since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 and handed Kentucky its first opening-round loss under coach John Calipari.

“At the end of the day, every team that made it to the NCAA Tournament deserves to be here. Every team that made it to the NCAA Tournament believes they can advance. It’s about this night,” Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway said.

Saint Peter’s, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion, kept it close throughout and Banks’ two free throws with 1:45 left in overtime gave the Peacocks the lead for good. Doug Edert’s layup with 24 seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime. He also made the final two game-sealing free throws for the Peacocks and finished with 20 points.

Saint Peter’s (20-11) moves on to face either No. 7 seed Murray State or No. 10 San Francisco in Saturday’s second round in the East Region.

Not bad for a school with an enrollment of about 3,500 that has made half as many NCAA Tournament appearances (four) as Kentucky has national titles (eight).

“It’s huge,” Banks said. “We’re putting Jersey City on the map. We come from Jersey, a small school, probably a lot of people don’t even know who we are.”

Oscar Tshiebwe had 30 points and 16 rebounds for Kentucky (26-8) but his pair of missed free throws early in overtime was costly, and the Wildcats lacked a reliable secondary scorer. TyTy Washington Jr. was held to five points on 2-of-10 shooting.

The game featured 16 ties and 13 lead changes. Kentucky went ahead 68-62 on Sahvir Wheeler’s driving layup with 4:12 remaining. Saint Peter’s followed with seven unanswered points, capped by Edert’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:25 left. Kellan Grady put Kentucky back ahead before Edert forced overtime.

The Wildcats had their eyes set on a ninth title behind Tshiebwe, the 6-foot-9 forward who is a candidate for national player of the year honors. And Kentucky was playing in front of a predominantly blue-clad crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, a 2½-hour drive from Lexington.

“It is sad because I’ve been wanting this moment for a long time,” Tshiebwe said.

Banks set the tone throughout, making all four of his 3-point attempts for 16 first-half points. He finished 9 for 19 from the field and 5 for 8 from deep, with a loud reaction following most every big shot. Teammates followed suit.

Edert was 5 for 7 and made both of his 3-point tries. Saint Peter’s finished 9 for 17 overall from behind the arc and shot 29 for 57 overall (50.9%). The Peacocks also stayed close on the boards (35 to Kentucky’s 36) and made 18 of 21 from the free-throw line.

“It feels amazing, truly it feels amazing,” Edert said. “They had a great crowd, a lot of people. I don’t know if you saw it, but we had our own little section over there, too.”

Kentucky was 26 for 61 (43%) overall and 23 for 35 from the line. The Wildcats were tentative at times with the ball, hesitation that ended with forced shots.

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“My whole thing this week, because I knew they had never played in this stuff, was to get them free and loose and we never got to that point,” Calipari said. “Even during timeouts, I was trying to do that. … As a coach, it’s your job to figure out how to finish the game and we didn’t do that.”

BITTERSWEET MEMORIES

Before taking over at Saint Peter’s, Holloway spent eight years as an assistant at his alma mater, Seton Hall. He played four years for the Pirates and experienced the highs and lows of the NCAA Tournament as a senior in 2000.

Holloway scored 27 points and made the go-ahead basket with 1.9 seconds left in a first-round victory over Oregon, but he was injured and played only eight minutes in a second-round win against Temple. He did not play when Seton Hall was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by Oklahoma State.

BIG PICTURE

Saint Peter’s: The Peacocks didn’t flinch against their more talented foe, keeping up with and sometimes dictating the pace. Banks’ perimeter shooting was huge in the first half before he came up late in the game and in OT.

Kentucky: The Wildcats had to work for nearly every basket but succeeded at getting to the free-throw line. But they struggled moving the ball and missed several key shots that could have won the game. Instead, one of the popular choices to win the national championship is going home early a year after missing the tournament altogether.

Kentucky players react on the bench at the end of their overtime loss to Saint Peter’s in an NCAA Tournament first-round game on Thursday in Indianapolis. The 15th-seeded Peacocks kept the heat on the second-seeded Wildcats all game and prevailed, 85-79. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)