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The Beavers are dancing once again...

After an improbable conference tournament run that saw Oregon State defeat UCLA and Oregon in the Pac-12 Tournament, the Beavers captured their first-ever trophy and earned the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament bid with a 70-68 win over Colorado Saturday night in Las Vegas.

"Just super proud of our guys. Not just for this week or tonight, but the last six weeks or so we have really put some special things together and it's a credit to our guys' buy-in, guys putting their ego aside, buying into the team, playing harder than our opponent, executing our stuff, and enjoying each other out there," head coach Wayne Tinkle said.

Maurice Calloo led the inspired effort with 15 points off the bench, Jarod Lucas had 14, and Gianni Hunt had 10 to help push the Beavers to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2016 and only their second since 1990.

"It's really a blessing, a dream come true. Been dreaming about this since I was a little kid and words can't explain," Calloo said. "It feels amazing.. it gave me goosebumps, so it put a smile on my face. The first thing I did when I got my phone was call my mom, she was happy for me and it's just amazing, it's an amazing feeling."

Warith Alatishe, who averaged 14 points and 9.6 rebounds across the Beavers' three wins in Las Vegas, was named the Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

The Beavers had to earn every bit of this win as Colorado gave them everything they could handle, but every single time, they had an answer. Whether it was an unexpected lift from Calloo off the bench, Lucas hitting clutch free-throws down the stretch, or just the Beavers wanting it more, there was no denying this Beaver squad from reaching the dance.

Oregon State led 33-28 at the half and was able to hold the lead for the majority of the contest (35:18) all while forcing the Buffaloes to play at their pace and style. The Beavers shot 48% from the floor and 41% from three.

Perhaps most importantly, the Buffs were their own worst enemy at the foul-line as they were the nation's leader in free-throw percentage coming into the contest, yet only hit 12-of-20 (60%).

"I just couldn't be more thrilled for our team, for our families. I mentioned the families of our players last night after the game and their buy-in, sticking with us has been huge for us, a huge shot in the arm through these really tough times, my own family and all Beaver nation," Tinkle said. "Just a hell of a deal right now."

Oregon State (17-12) will now await its NCAA Tournament seeding as Selection Sunday will air on CBS at 3 p.m.

"Just how blessed and grateful I am for being here and being in this position," Hunt said. "That's really the only thing that was running through my mind. I'm just so blessed and thankful to be here with this team with these guys and it's been special, it's been a special run, but we're not done."

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