Frigid Finish Dooms Beavers' Vegas Trip, UCF Beats Oregon State 76-75
In this story:
The ending of this game felt like a dream.
With seconds remaining, trailing by a point, Oregon State redshirt sophomore guard Liutauras Lelevicius drove the length of the court and attempted a layup. The Lithuanian's effort was blocked by UCF big man Moustapha Thiam, but the ball was tracked down by the Beavers' senior point guard Damarco Minor.
Without hesitation, Minor craned his body for an open shooting angle, pump-faked a defender out of their rhythm, and then floated what looked like the game-winning jumper through the netting.
As Minor's shot tickled the twine, he looked back in horror, realizing that Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle called timeout. His shot was waved off. This beautiful dream - an Oregon State comeback win just a week removed from losing three starters to the transfer portal - was interrupted by an alarming whistle.
UCF held on to win 76-75, securing the victory after a missed Lelevicius three-pointer. Oregon State woke up from this dream with a head-scratching end to their season.
Halfway into the first half, Oregon State led UCF19-15. The Golden Knights found success with layups and free throws, but Lelevicius sank a triple, and Damarco Minor's fine form from last month's WCC quarterfinals carried over to the Vegas strip: at that point in the game, Minor led all scorers with eight points.
The Golden Knights gained the upper hand on perimeter strikes from Jordan Ivy-Curry, Darius Johnson, and Nils Machowski. At halftime, the Big-12 school led 45-36.
Hobbled by the transfer portal departure of star center Parsa Fallah, Oregon State went to a smaller lineup: the Beavers regularly played three guards Minor, Lelevicius, and Josiah Lake II together. In the second half, that lineup helped the orange & black stay close.
With less than five minutes expired in the second half, Lelevicius drove into the paint and finished with a lay-in, clawing the Beavers within three.
Trailing by five near the 12-minute mark, French freshman wing Maxim Logue capitalized on a Golden Knights' turnover with a thunderous dunk. The deficit returned to three.
Down two with 9:21 left, Logue got fouled on a layup that found the netting, and his ensuing and-one lifted Oregon State ahead for the first time since 4:42 before halftime.
For several minutes, the two teams traded buckets. Eventually, tired legs took their toll. Oregon State failed to hit a field goal in the final 2:32, and UCF whiffed several jumpers and free throws in that span.
After the aforementioned timeout negated Minor's apparent game-winner, coach Wayne Tinkle drew up a play on his whiteboard. With 5.4 seconds remaining in regulation, Oregon State inbounded the ball to an open Lelevicius behind the three point line, and the Lithuanian shooter - known for hot & cold shooting nights this season - attempted to win the game with a long range jumper.
Leading up to that moment, Lelevicius had led all Oregon State scorers with 20 points on 9 of 11 shooting, after starting a perfect eight-for-eight. His efforts were admirable. Unfortunately, this last effort caromed off the rim, and into UCF 6'6" guard Deebo Coleman's clutches. He dribbled out the clock, and suddenly Oregon State's season was over.
In 35 minutes of action, Lelevicius led all Oregon State scorers with 20 points. Maxim Logue scored an impressive 18 points and 10 rebounds on six-of-eight shooting in 24 minutes. Standout point guard Damarco Minor, in the senior's final Oregon State appearance, notched 16 points and eight clutch rebounds.
The Oregon State men's basketball team finished the 2024-25 season with a 20-13 overall record, and a fifth place 10-8 mark in the West Coast Conference regular season standings. Impressively, it was their third 20-win season in the last 35 years.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
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.