CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The ultimate underdog story is over, but this NCAA Tournament will always be remembered for the sweetest No. 16 in college basketball history.

UMBC’s brief, but historic run ended with a 50-43 loss to ninth seeded Kansas State on Sunday night.

UMBC became the first 16 seed to beat a No. 1, destroying top-ranked Virginia 74-54 on Friday night. After pulling off an all-time sports stunner, the Retrievers ran out of magic against the Wildcats.

“I’m proud of my guys, man,” UMBC senior guard Jourdan Grant. “We made history. Can’t be mad at that. I wouldn’t want to go out with another set of guys, man. I love these guys to the moon and back. This season, we’ll remember it for the rest of our lives.”

As UMBC coach Ryan Odom emptied his bench with 9.4 seconds left, the crowd gave the Retrievers a standing ovation. The players hugged at midcourt. After the game ended, players walked over to the side of the court and gave their fans an appreciative wave.

The dream had ended, but some players managed smiles as they left the court.

“(UMBC) played their hearts out,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “UMBC, you’ve got to give Coach (Ryan) Odom credit. What they did to Virginia was unbelievable.”

Barry Brown led Kansas State with 18 points and Xavier Sneed came up with some huge plays down the stretch, including a monster dunk off an offensive rebound.

The Wildcats (24-11) move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010 when they lost in the Elite Eight to Butler. They will face No. 5 Kentucky on Thursday night.

UMBC had only had two field goals in the final six minutes and shot just 29.8 percent for the game.

UMBC’s scrappy defense forced 18 turnovers, but managed just three points off those. They finished 6 of 22 from 3-point range two nights after lighting up Virginia. And 9 of 18 from the free throw line.

“This entire week has been amazing up until the last two hours,” UMBC guard Joe Sherburne said. “We connected with people around the world. We could tell during the game how many people were rooting for us.”

K.J. Maura, the 5-foot-8 point guard, said: “We put our name on the map. We gave hope to smaller seeds.”

And earned the admiration of their opponents. Brown made sure to congratulate the Retrievers.