The Beavers win it all
LAS VEGAS –– Oregon State went up by seven points just six minutes into the game as Colorado had problems finding the bucket or getting a successful shot off in time. The Buffs never gave up though, allowing the Beavs to only go up by 9 at most during the half.
OSU’s offense pulled off a jaw-dropping 60 percent 3-point range while CU went zero for four from beyond the arc.
Evan Battey, a junior forward for Colorado, kept his team in the game bringing in 11 points and becoming a powerful force to reckon with on defense.
By the time the first 20 minutes were finished, the Buffaloes had brought the game back within 5 points when the halftime buzzer sounded. At halftime, Oregon State led Colorado 33-28.
To start off the second half, Colorado’s McKinley Wright IV had a sneaky look inside to Battey for a 3-point play which brought the score within 2.
In response, Jarod Lucas, Beaver sophomore guard, knocked down his first shot of the night for 3 points that was followed quickly by a 3-pointer from Buffalo D’Shawn Schwartz.
The Buffs tied it up with a jumper from Wright who was fouled on the play and converted on his free-throw, pushing Colorado into the lead.
The teams traded baskets and turnovers throughout the next few minutes; neither ever being able to run away with the game.
Battey returned to the game for the Buffaloes with just under 10 minutes in the game and immediately went to work draining shots and creating second-chance shots through offensive rebounds for his team.
3-pointers began raining down on both ends of the court as on back to back to back possessions, both teams had players hit the target from deep. OSU started to pull away from Colorado with under four minutes remaining, as Jarod Lucas hit clutch shots to build the Beavers’ lead to seven.
Schwartz sank a deep 3-point shot with 2:17 left on the clock to shrink Oregon State’s lead back down to just three points. Battey’s lockdown defensive play came back into the picture as he drove the Beavers to a shot clock violation. Wright knocked down a shot with 5.8 seconds remaining to bring the Buffs within two of the Beavs.
After getting fouled on the floor, Wright sank a pair of free throws to bring the score within one point with just 2.2 seconds left in the game. Schwartz fouled Roman Silva on the inbounds play to send him to the line where he went one for two.
Wright missed the hail mary buzzer-beater with 1.4 seconds on the clock and the Beavers walked away with the victory.
This is Oregon State’s first-ever Pac-12 Tournament championship title since the tournament was restarted in 2002. OSU is the first team in Pac-12 history to be ranked last in the conference’s preseason poll and end up winning the tournament during the postseason.
“We said, just because it's Saturday night, the championship game, we're not changing. Let's continue to be who we are. I couldn't be more thrilled for our team,” Head Coach Wayne Tinkle said of his team’s win tonight. “We're going to keep this thing rolling. Orange Express is back, baby. Go Beavs.”
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