Going back and forth on the scoreboard for 40 minutes, the Oregon State Beavers (9 – 8) hosted the Stanford Cardinal (9 – 7) Thursday night at Gill Coliseum which ended in an 88-84 Beaver loss.
Clawing their way back into the game in the final minutes of the second half, Stanford’s offensive struggles dissipated. Earning much of their offensive success in the first half through high pick-and-roll movement, Stanford strayed away from their game plan in the second half and still managed to keep the game competitive.
“They got really aggressive and they drove us,” Beaver head coach Wayne Tinkle said. “They got to the free throw line and our guys got tentative. We got lost in their zone not from the three, but guys getting back-cut layups against the zone which shouldn’t happen.”
Despite falling behind by six points in the opening minutes of the game, the Beavers got an early spark from the bench including a steal from redshirt freshman guard Justin Rochelin who converted the turnover into three-points on the other end.
The Beavers silenced the early shooting success of the Cardinal closing the scoring gap, forcing a three-minute scoring drought at the end of the first half.
With 16 seconds remaining in the first half, Pope drove his way into the paint converting on a tremendous left-handed floater to give the Beavers a five-point lead as time expired.
With 1 minute remaining, KC Ibekwe knocked down two clutch free throws to lift the Beavers ahead by one. Stanford responded immediately with a score of their own from freshman guard Kanaan Carlyle.
As the clock ticked down to 20 seconds, Beaver forward Michael Rataj euro-stepped his way into contact after picking up the steal, earning a trip to the line to equalize the score at 73.
With the score knotted up at the end of regulation, the Beavs found themselves in extra minutes for the fourth time this season.
In yet another crucial scoring scenario down the stretch, the Beavs looked to Ibekwe and Tyler Bilodeau to create offensive opportunities. Unable to convert, the Cardinals mounted a late scoring run lifting them ahead 81-76 backed by a contested three-point shot from forward Brandon Angel. Angel finished the game with 19 points shooting 7-9 from the field.
Failing to convert offensively as time ticked away, the Beavers went down two possessions added on by the free throw shooting of Carlyle. A late three-pointer by Pope gave a sliver of hope before the clock ran out.
The Beavers will fly to Salt Lake City to face Utah on Jan. 18 at 6 p.m.