INDIANAPOLIS — The Oregon State Beavers are headed to the Elite Eight after knocking off another underdog, the Loyola Chicago Ramblers, 65-58 on Saturday in the men’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Senior Ethan Thompson scored 22 points to lead the way for No. 12 seed Oregon State, which led by as many as 13 before holding off No. 8 seed Loyola down the stretch. Warith Alatishe added 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Beavers (20-12).
It’s just the third time in school history that the Beavers have won three men’s NCAA Tournament games.
The Beavers won three NCAA tourney games in 1963 and 1982. This was OSU’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 1982, when the Beavers won to reach the West Regional final.
The game was a defensive battle most of the way. Oregon State held Loyola to 33.3% shooting, and 21.7% on threes.
Cameron Krutwig had 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Loyola (26-5).
Here’s a recap of how the game unfolded.
FINAL: OREGON STATE 65, LOYOLA CHICAGO 58
— Zach Reichle hits two free throws to put Oregon State up 51-44 with 2:43 to go. Loyola’s Marquise Kennedy hits a three, though. Now Alatishe with a putback layup. Jarod Lucas hits a big three for Oregon State with 1:12 left. Alatishe hits two free throws, and the Beavers lead it 58-51 in the final minute. Loyola misses a three. Ethan Thompson with the rebound, and he’s fouled with 35.8 seconds left. He hits both and it’s a nine-point lead for the Beavers, at 60-51. Williamson hits a three, trimming the Loyola deficit to 60-54 with 24.5 seconds left. Timeout. The Ramblers foul Reichle with 23.1 seconds to go. Reichle hits both. Oregon State leads 62-54. A Cameron Krutwig putback trims the Beavers’ lead to 62-56 with 10 seconds left. Timeout. Reichle fouled again, with 9 seconds left. Reichle makes one. Loyola gets a quick layup, and then fouls Ethan Thompson with 2.2 seconds left. Thompson makes both, and the game ends. Oregon State wins 65-58 and is headed to the Elite Eight.
— Tate Hall hits a layup and draws a foul. He doesn’t convert the free throw, though, so the Oregon State lead is 45-39. The teams come up empty a few times down the floor. Then Warith Alatishe hits a bank shot and the Beavers are up 47-39. Loyola’s Braden Norris answers with a three, and the Beavers lead it by five. An Aher Uguak alley-oop layup cuts it to three. But then Jarod Lucas swishes a jumper. OSU is up 49-44 with 2:43 left.
— Suddenly, these teams are showing off some offense. Loyola’s Lucas Williamson knocks down a three to cut the Oregon State lead to 43-37. But Ethan Thompson answers with a layup, and the Beavers lead 45-37 with 7:47 to go.
— Oregon State’s Maurice Calloo turns it over, and fouls Marquise Kennedy, who hits two free throws to cut the Oregon State lead to 37-30. Ethan Thompson misses a three, but the Beavers get the offensive rebound. It leads to Calloo getting fouled as he cuts to the basket. He makes both free throws, and the Oregon State lead is nine, at 39-30, with 10:24 to go.
— Loyola’s Braden Norris scores on a layup, and he draws a foul on Ethan Thompson. Norris will shoot a free throw after the media timeout. With 11:46 to play in the game, Oregon State leads 37-26. Norris missed the free throw, but got his own rebound and drew another foul. He hit both free throws to cut the OSU lead to 37-28.
— Ethan Thompson just beat Loyola down the floor on an inbound play, caught a deep pass and threw down a dunk to give Oregon State a 37-24 lead with 12:42 to play.
— Oregon State has its biggest lead of the game, with the Beavers up 33-22 at the 15:49 mark of the second half. Jarod Lucas knocked down a three-pointer with 16:06 left to extend the lead, for Lucas’ first points of the game. Ethan Thompson is up to 12 points, while Roman Silva, Warith Alatishe and Rodrigue Andela have four points apiece. Oregon State’s shooting percentage is up to 37.5%, while Loyola is still at a paltry 22.2%.
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HALFTIME: OREGON STATE 24, LOYOLA CHICAGO 16
— It’s been a defensive battle thus far, with Oregon State leading Loyola Chicago 24-16 at halftime. The Ramblers jumped out to a 9-3 lead, but then the Beavers used a 7-0 run to take the lead.
Oregon State held the Ramblers scoreless for the final 5:48 of the half, turning a 16-13 deficit into an eight-point Beavers lead at the break.
Ethan Thompson leads OSU with 10 points so far.
Loyola shot just 4 of 23 (17.4%) and made 1 of 9 threes in the first half. The Beavers made only 8 of 24 shots (33.3%), but did knock down 3 of 7 threes.
Oregon State (19-12) vs. Loyola of Chicago (26-4)
Time: 11:40 a.m. Saturday
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
On air: KOIN 6
KenPom ranking: Oregon State 48, Loyola 9
Betting line: Ramblers by 7
Projected starters for Oregon State
G – Ethan Thompson (6-5 senior)
G – Zach Reichle (6-5 senior)
G – Jarod Lucas (6-2 sophomore)
F – Warith Alatishe (6-7 junior)
C – Roman Silva (7-1 senior)
Previous meetings: In the only previous meeting between the schools, Loyola won 29-19 during the 1927-28 season.
Notable: Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner call the game on CBS, with Dana Jacobson doing sidelines. … A win gives Oregon State its first 20-win season since 2011-12, when the Beavers went 21-15. However, OSU played six CBI games that season to pad the record. The last time the Beavers won 20 games without a CBI boost was 1989-90, when they were 22-7. … Oregon State has won four games against AP Top 25 teams this season, the most since 1979-80. … The Beavers have won five consecutive games, and eight straight away from Gill Coliseum. … During OSU’s recent five-game streak, Alatishe is averaging 10.4 points and 10.0 rebounds. … In its two NCAA Tournament wins, Oregon State is shooting 44.9% (49 of 107) and holding the opponent to 30.5% shooting (39 of 128). … Maurice Calloo is averaging 10.5 points in two NCAA tourney games, more than double his regular season/Pac-12 tournament scoring average of 5.2. … Oregon State is attempting to become the second 12 seed to reach the Elite 8. The only team to do it is Missouri in 2002. … The OSU-Loyola winner advances to Monday’s regional final against the Houston-Syracuse winner in Lucas Oil Stadium.
— Nick Daschel | [email protected] | @nickdaschel
