Beavers Extinguish Flames: Oregon State Men's Basketball Beats UIC 76-73
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Thanks to last-second free throw heroics from leading scorer Josiah Lake II, Oregon State remained unbeaten. Friday night at Gill Coliseum, the Beavers defeated the UIC Flames 76-73.
Orange & black bombs defined the opening minutes of action: early three-point shots by Matija Samar and Dez White lifted ol' O-S-U ahead by six. After a UIC layup from Ahmad Henderson II, Josiah Lake II swished a triple, 9-2 Beavers. Moments later, White lifted the lead to double digits with his second trey of the night.
At the under-12 timeout, Oregon State appeared to be in full control. The Beavers led 20-9 thanks to a flurry of three point shots, a block by transfer big man Jorge Diaz Graham which sparked a Lake II transition bucket, and an empty foul tally.
UIC would not go away quietly, however. A seventeen point run - featuring long range bombs from Jayce Nathaniel, Josiah Hammonds, and Anthony Johnson - pushed the Flames ahead by one, 21-20. Oregon State was scoreless for nearly five minutes before transfer forward Yaak Yaak offered respite with a putback layup and-1, 23-21Beavers.
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After several swings of momentum between the two schools, the half ended with a stellar run of play by French transfer forward Keziah Ekissi. First, Ekissi punched a loose ball into the grasps of Olavi Suutela for a Beavers layup. That bang-bang play tied the game at 36 with just over a minute until halftime. Then - in the final seconds of the half - Lake II rebounded a missed UIC free throw, raced down the floor, and found an open Ekissi for a buzzer-beating three. At halftime, Oregon State led UIC 42-37.
Eight different Beavers scored in the first half, and Josiah Lake II led all scorers with 10 points. Johan Munch hauled a team-high 7 rebounds. For UIC, Ahmad Henderson II and Jayce Nathaniel each tallied a team-high 9 points.
The second half began with a pair of Beavers' buckets by Munch and Suutela, 46-37 Oregon State. At the under-16 timeout, the home team led 49-43.
UIC doggedly fought back. First, Sam Silverstein swished free throws to trim the margin within two possessions. Then, a Josiah Hammons triple made it a one point game. Finally, Andy Johnson split an Oregon State double team, leaped into the skies, evaded a block by switching control to his left hand, and executed a perfect finger roll. At the under-12 timeout, UIC led 52-51.
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The following minutes featured heroics from Oregon State point guard Josiah Lake II: with 9:52 left, the junior from Tualatin drove down the floor for a layup, then with 08:18 left he swished an open trey from the left wing of the arc. At the under-8 timeout, Lake had 17 points, while Oregon State trailed 58-56.
Heroics weren't exclusive to one school. After Matija Samar sank a pair of game-tying free throws with 5:57 left, UIC guard Ahmad Henderson II faced a dilemma: with the shot clock expiring, and an Oregon State defender leveraging him towards his bench, he heaved up a prayer. Moments later, the shot rolled down the rim, 63-60 UIC.
Thanks to a stunning three-pointer by Oregon State big man Jorge Diaz Graham (both Oregon State's student section, and it's bench, thundered applause), the two schools tied 65-all at the under-4 timeout.
Approaching the two minute mark, true Slovenian true freshman Matija Samar broke free, darted under the basket, and kicked to a wide open Lake II. In the blink of an eye, Lake swished a jumper, and Oregon State led 71-68.
Suddenly, the game tightened. Turnovers and steals defined the next minute of action, and free throws highlighted the final stretch: Lake II got to the line on back-to-back possessions, swished 3-of-4, and the Beavers led 74-70. With just :14 remaining, Johnson buried a three-pointer to keep UIC alive.
In the final seconds, Isiah Sy lobbed to Samar under the basket, who looked up, saw double digits on the game clock, backed up, and wisely burned clock until UIC defenders fouled him. A pair of free throws bolstered the Beavers lead to 3. A UIC game-tying effort trickled off the rim and bounced mercifully out of bounds at the final buzzer.
Oregon State escaped the upset bid, 76-73. Josiah Lake II led all scorers with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting (2-5 3PT), plus 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Oregon State is now 2-0 on the season. They'll play again on Wednesday November 12th versus North Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 PM at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.
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Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.