DAYTON, Ohio -- Shortly after UC Davis won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game on Wednesday night, the discussion turned to the Aggies' next opponent -- No. 1 seed Kansas, which owns 14 Final Four appearances and three national titles in its storied history.

UC Davis will be the latest No. 16 seed to try to take down a No. 1, something that has never been done. Even so, the Aggies say they are confident.

"It's going to happen eventually," forward Chima Moneke said. "That's how I look at it. We all can play at this level. And you know, I respect everybody, I don't fear anybody."

Moneke played fearlessly Wednesday, scoring a team-leading 18 points, and Brynton Lemar added 15, lifting UC Davis to a 67-63 victory over North Carolina Central in a NCAA Tournament First Four matchup at University of Dayton Arena.

The Aggies will face Kansas in the Midwest Regional on Friday night in Tulsa, Okla.

"(I) feel like in a one-game situation ... we're going to play hard, we're going to compete and let the chips fall where they may," UC Davis coach Jim Les said. "So we're excited for this opportunity, and we'll concede nothing. But we'll be ready."

UC Davis (23-12) held its opponents to an average of fewer than 70 points per game this season, and it took another solid defensive effort on Wednesday to help the Aggies overcome 18 turnovers.

UC Davis also won despite being held without a field goal for the final 5:41.

"This is a resilient group," Les said. "And there were quite a few times when they could have laid down, and they just refused. And they find a way, and it's different guys making big plays."

North Carolina Central (25-9) missed three potential go-ahead 3-point attempts in the final 12 seconds as UC Davis held on.

The Eagles went 5 of 26 from 3-point range (19.2 percent). They came in shooting just 29.1 percent from beyond the arc.

"We usually preach getting to the rim and attacking the basket first before we just start jacking up 3s." said senior guard Dajuan Graf, who led North Carolina Central with 15 points. "But once we started driving, we just really didn't hit any shots, any threes at least. And I mean, it kind of cost us."

Patrick Cole and Kyle Benton each added 13 points for the Eagles.

Moneke scored eight points, including a pair of dunks, in the first six-plus minutes as the Aggies dominated the paint in the early going.

"I just thought our mentality to begin the game, it wasn't where we needed it to be to be contenders and competitors," North Carolina Central coach LeVelle Moton said. "We gathered ourselves."

North Carolina Central shook off some nerves with a 12-0 run in the first half as UC Davis went scoreless for more than five minutes.

Aggies guard Lawrence White's steal and dunk tied the score 25-25. White finished with 14 points.

North Carolina Central scored 11 points off nine Aggies turnovers in the first half while the Eagles had only four turnovers in the half.

Graf's 3-pointer just ahead of the halftime buzzer put North Carolina Central ahead 34-31.

UC Davis began the second half with a 9-0 run, making four of its first seven shots to go up 40-34.

Three-pointers by Lemar and Darius Graham helped the Aggies equal their largest lead of nine points at 52-43 with 11:47 left.

"I like how they approached coming out in the second half on both ends of the floor," Les said. "We started the half with some stops. I thought we were much better -- we talked on the board about how we wanted to attack the 1-3-1."

UC Davis turnovers, however, helped the Eagles hang around. North Carolina Central scored 20 of its points off Aggies giveaways.

Graf's 3-pointer with 1:49 left cut UC Davis' lead to 64-63 with 1:49 left.

Graham then airballed a 3-pointer from the right wing, giving the Eagles possession with 37.8 left, setting up a frantic finish.

"Well, it's special," Les said. "Our guys grew up as little hoopers dreaming about playing and having this opportunity, and so it's special to be here. And we're just going to continue to fight, to keep this story going."

NOTES: UC Davis coach Jim Les is no stranger to achieving NCAA Tournament success at mid-major programs. Les took his alma mater, Bradley, to the Sweet 16 in 2006. ... North Carolina Central made its second NCAA Tournament appearance. As a No. 14 seed in 2014, the Eagles lost to No. 3 seed Iowa State in the first round, three years after the program gained Division I status. ... The Eagles played a tough nonconference schedule that included wins over Missouri and No. 14 seed Northern Kentucky while losing to Marshall and Ohio State.