Oregon State men's basketball; Pac-12 Tournament; Jarod Lucas; Tres Tinkle; Beavers

Known around the Oregon State basketball program as J-Cash, freshman guard Jarod Lucas hit the biggest shot of his young career on Wednesday to defeat the Utah Utes 71-69 in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

After missing what would have been the game-winning three-pointer against Arizona State in Tempe several weeks ago in what was an almost identical situation, Lucas was determined to not miss when the Beavers' tournament hopes were on the line.

"It motivates me because it hurt me," Lucas said of missing the shot against ASU in Feb. "I texted (Tres) after the game, thank you for trusting me. Next time I get that shot, I'm going to knock it down."

Lucas was a man of his word and he did more than just knock it down, he left no doubt in the arena that it was going in from the moment it left his hand.

With the Beavers (18-13) trailing the Utes by one with just over 18 seconds remaining, head coach Wayne Tinkle elected to call time out and set up the offense.

Out of the TO, Tres Tinkle took the controls and his move for the paint with just under six seconds left. He found himself doubled in the lane and kicked it out to Lucas in the left-corner for a wide-open three-pointer and it was true the second it left his hand.

"What an unselfish play from Tres," Wayne Tinkle said. "Lucas missed that shot against Arizona State in Tempe and he cried in the locker room and said coach I'm never missing that shot again."

"I just knew that they were going to load up on me and I knew that I had a good shooter with me," Tinkle said. "I've got confidence in him taking every last-second shot and luckily I was able to make a good jump stop and make the right read. When I threw it to him, I knew it was in."

There was 1.8 left on the clock following Lucas' three, but the Utes were stunned and couldn't get a shot off, sealing the Oregon State victory and setting up an all-important third matchup of the season with the top-seeded Oregon Ducks (24-7).

The Beavers and Ducks have split their respective matchups this season as each team won convincingly on their home floors, which should make for an intriguing third matchup on a neutral court with a ton on the line.

Stick with BeaversEdge for continuing coverage on the team as they prepare to face off against Payton Pritchard and Co. on Thursday at noon.