3/22/2021 basketball Edit

Beavers Upset Cowboys 80-70, Punch Ticket To Sweet Sixteen

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

Publisher

PROMO: Join BeaversEdge.com and get 30 DAYS FREE!

MORE: REACTION: Beavers Advance To Sweet Sixteen

Led by Ethan Thompson's 26 points, the Oregon State men's basketball team continued its Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament as the 12th-seeded Beavers knocked off 4-seed Oklahoma State 80-70 on Sunday evening to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

After being picked to finish 12th in the Pac-12 Conference, the Beavers now find themselves as one of the final sixteen teams left in the NCAA Tournament.

"Just super proud of the group, man. I mean, this is an unbelievable ride we're on. So much went against us tonight," head coach Wayne Tinkle said. "It's just a credit to the heart and the buy-in and the poise we showed down the stretch."

Playing against his former team, Maurice Calloo certainly had a little extra motivation as he finished with 15 points and five rebounds, while Jarod Lucas added 15 points and six rebounds.

Oklahoma State seized the early momentum and led Oregon State 9-4 with 15:57 left in the first, but then it all changed.

The Beavers proceeded to go on a 36-13 run over the next 13 minutes where they built the lead to 18 and established a tone for the contest. Oregon State led 44-30 at the half.

The Cowboys came out firing to start the second half and cranked up the fullcourt pressure against the Beavers, forcing 12 second-half turnovers (20 total) and slowly chipping away at the lead.

They managed to cut the Oregon State lead to as little as two midway through the final half, but the Beavers always seemed to have an answer as they continued to fight off Cowboy rallies.

As a team, the Beavers shot 41% from the floor and 30% from beyond-the-arc. At the charity stripe, Beavers excelled and got some help as they went 32-of-35 from the line while Oklahoma State went 26-of-38.

Oregon State also out-rebounded the Cowboys 52-32 as Warith Alatishe and Roman Silva each had 12 rebounds to pace the Beavers.

Unintimidated by likely No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham and the high-flying Cowboy offense, the Beavers locked in defensively and clamped down, holding Oklahoma State to just 28% shooting from the floor and behind-the-arc.

"He's a heck of a player," Tinkle said of Cunningham. "We said they're going to make plays, they're probably going to get some breakaways off of turnovers, bang some threes. We just had to remember what we faced all year long and how we keep coming back from adversity."

While the box score will certainly highlight the offensive performances of Thompson, Lucas, and Calloo, the Beavers (19-12) won this contest with their intense defense that's seemed to have found another gear during this postseason surge.

Cunningham, who was athletic and talented as advertised, had to work for everything against Oregon State's defense, going just 6-of-20 from the floor as the Beaver defense always tried to have multiple players in his airspace.

"He's a very talented player," Thompson said of Cunningham. "Our coaches had a pretty good scouting report on him. You can't guard him really one-on-one but as a team. We did a pretty good job of that, just knowing where he is on the floor."

With the Beavers now having survived the First & Second Rounds of the NCAA Tournament, they've earned and will be given a much-needed break before facing Loyola-Chicago on Saturday at 11:40 AM.

"Our team is extremely blessed. We just want to keep playing," Thompson said. "The games are happening out here, so hopefully we stay out here."