Beavers finally bag Pac-12 win

Well into Sunday evening, it appeared likely Oregon State would remain winless in league play for the year and make history, and not in a good way. Yet, somehow OSU rallied and topped the Utah Utes, 68-67.

The Beavers were down to the Utes, 63-54, with 3:23 to play in their home game against Utah.

KenPom, a college basketball analytics site, had a forecast chart for the game and the Utes at that moment – believe it or not – had roughly a 99 percent chance of victory.

Well, let’s just say the Beavers took that 1 percent and turned it into a victory. OSU went on a 14-4 run to close out the game, led by sophomore guard Stephen Thompson Jr., who scored a career-high 31 points  and also hit the game-winning shot.

It seems as if Thompson is the front-and-center of attention when it comes down to memorable moments recently in Oregon State’s men’s basketball history. Just last season, the freshman hit the winning shot against Washington with less than a second on the clock. Which was a key win for the Beavers, as that victory led them to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 26 years.

Thompson was interviewed after the Utah game and was asked how OSU was able to come from behind and grab its first league win.

“I think the main thing was remaining confident in our abilities,” he replied.

The Beavers attempted another big comeback against Stanford, but lost 79-66 on the road on Wednesday night.

Oregon State now has two games left this regular season as they travel to Berkeley tonight to play Cal, and then return home against Oregon in Gill Coliseum on March 4.

The Beavers have not won a road game all season. And last time they played the Ducks, they lost by an embarrassing 42 points in Eugene on Jan. 14.

Sunday’s victory snapped a 14-game losing streak for OSU, and if they would’ve gone 0-18 in conference play, it would have been only the second time ever since Arizona and Arizona State were added to form the Pac-10 in 1978. The first time a team went 0-18 in conference, it was no other than Oregon State, in 2007-08.

That season, OSU finished with an unbearable school-record 21 consecutive games lost.

Coach Wayne Tinkle spoke about the current Beaver team following the upset victory over Utah: “Our guys deserve to taste some success. Not one of them has gone south on us,” he said.

So, you can tell that Tinkle has a lot of respect for his team and understands the hard work the players are putting in. Now it’s time to see results and see if the Beavers can get hot, going into the Pac 12 Tournament that starts March 8.