Oregon State Men's Basketball Knocked Out of West Coast Conference Tournament After 77-73 Loss to Pepperdine

Despite beating them twice in the regular season, Oregon State couldn't contain a feisty Pepperdine team in the West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, as the ninth seed Waves upset the 5th seed Beavers 77-73.

Oregon State jumped in front early with a pair of threes from Nate Kingz and Damarco Minor. Stefan Todorovic did everything he could to keep the Waves in the game, scoring 13 points in the first 10 minutes to keep the game close. Kingz and Minor helped keep the Beavers in front, with Kingz in particular delivering a big first half that featured four three pointers, but OSU couldn't put the Waves in the rear view. The Beavers held on to a slim 40-38 lead at the end of the first half.

Danilo Dozic hit a three for Pepperdine to put the Waves in front early in the second half, and while the Beavers and Waves would trade the lead back and forth for a while, eventually Oregon State's shooting fell apart. After shooting nearly 60% from the field in the first half, Oregon State's shooting percentage fell to as low as 33% during their worst stretch in the second, allowing Pepperdine to establish a solid lead.

With 5 minutes left in the game, Pepperdine held onto an 1- point, 70-59 lead over Oregon State. A series of fouls gave the Beavers a chance to chip away at the Pepperdine lead, with Oregon State hitting 5 straight free throws to get the margin down to 6. A three from Liutauras Lelevicius then got the Beavers to within three, with 2:25 left on the clock.

Three free throws from Boubacar Coulibaly got the Waves lead back up to 6 with just under a minute left in the game, but Coulibaly then fouled out. Damarco Minor hit his free throws to get the Beavers within four and on the next possession hit a second chance layup to get within 2, with 27 seconds left in the game.

The Beavers had to foul to get the ball back, but Stefan Todorovic hit his shots to keep the Waves up 4. Damarco Minor added another pair of free throws on the Beavers next possession, but time was running out. Pepperdine hit two more free throws, and that would be it for Oregon State's attempt at a comeback. The Waves won 77-73.

Damarco Minor led the Beavers in scoring with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. When the Beavers' shooting went cold in the second half, Minor managed to spark the comeback that gave Oregon State a shot, even if they couldn't pull it off.

Nate Kingz also put together a solid game, although his second half performance could not keep up with his electric first half scoring. He finished the night with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Parsa Fallah was right behind him with 16 points and 5 rebounds, and Liu Lelevicius rounded out the top scorers with 15 points, 7 rebounds and an assist.

Pepperdine will take on Santa Clara tomorrow in the WCC Quarterfinals, while the Beavers will wait and see if anyone is calling with an open spot in a postseason tournament.

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