Beavers hand plummeting Cougars fifth straight loss
PULLMAN, Wash. - Roberto
Nelson had 17 points and Oregon State held off a late-game surge
Advertisement
to beat Washington State 67-66 on Wednesday night.
Oregon State lost a 15-point second-half lead after the Cougars went on
a late 20-6 run. D.J. Shelton hit back-to-back 3-pointers at
the end of the run to pull the Cougars within 64-63 with a minute
remaining. Washington State hit six consecutive 3s during the stretch.
"Part of the reason it was interesting is because we haven't won one
like this. We were trying a little too hard, so you make some
aggressive mistakes out there," Oregon State coach Craig Robinson said.
Nelson's tip-in on the next possession put the Beavers up 66-63.
"We have been through this enough where we were able to gather
ourselves right there at the end and make that play down here. That
offensive rebound was just unbelievable. See, three games ago, we
wouldn't make that play. Shoot, one game ago we wouldn't," Robinson
said.
Washington State had a good look at a tying 3-pointer but missed.
Langs Morris-Walker pulled down the rebound, and the Cougars
were forced to foul. Morris-Walker went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line
before DaVonte Lacy hit a meaningless 3 at the buzzer.
Eric Moreland added 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Challe
Barton scored 11 points and hit three 3-pointers, for Oregon State
(13-12, 3-9 Pac-12).
Lacy had a career high 27 points and hit seven 3-pointers, and
Brock Motum added 16 points, for Washington State (11-14,
2-10).
"Nice to see (Lacy) shoot well," Washington State coach Ken Bone said.
"He has been shooting the 3 with confidence. I would have liked to have
run a play to get DaVonte the ball in that last possession, but it was
hard when they had a few fouls to give. It is just hard to manufacture
a shot in that situation."
Washington State shot only 34 percent in the first half, but the
Cougars were 14 of 24 from the floor after halftime. Oregon State shot
45 percent for the game and outrebounded the Cougars 34-24.
The loss, Washington State's fifth straight, put the Cougars alone in
last place in the conference. Washington State was also without
key guard Mike Ladd due to inflammation in his knee.