For Oregon State men’s basketball, the journey has been an experience in previous years, and this week was no exception.
The outcome, however, was different: for the first time since 2021, the Beavers are returning home with a road sweep.
Oregon State was pushed to the limit by a determined San Diego team before the Beavers prevailed 83-73. For the first time since defeating California and Stanford in the latter stages of the 2020–21 season, OSU completed a road trip with a victory at Pepperdine on Thursday.
It was challenging for the Toreros, who were attempting to snap a 14-game losing streak. Despite having a 68-64 lead, Oregon State controlled the game in the closing minutes and won it with 15 free throws in the final 2:30.
Moving forward With 29 points and 10 rebounds, Michael Rataj led the attack. Rataj missed his career high by one point despite hitting 10 of 17 attempts.
For the first time since 1989–90, Oregon State (20-9, 10-6 WCC) won its 20th regular season game.
With two games left, the Beavers are still in fifth position in the West Coast Conference, one game behind Santa Clara in fourth place. Third and fourth place automatically advance to the quarterfinals of the WCC tournament.
OSU would need to defeat San Francisco and Saint Mary’s next week in addition to the Broncos’ two losses, since Santa Clara would have the tiebreaker.
Oregon State made 34 out of 42 free throw attempts. The Beavers haven’t done it since at least 1996, the school claims. Josiah Lake II (8 of 8), Nate Kingz (7 of 8), Parsa Fallah (7 of 10), and Rataj (7 of 8) were the four players that made at least eight free throws.
Five players from Oregon State scored in double figures. In addition to Rataj, Kingz and Fallah scored 11, Lake scored 13, and Damarco Minor scored 12.
San Diego led with 19 points from Kody Clouet (4-25, 1-15).
After a first half in which the Toreros shot 56% and scored six three-pointers, San Diego led 40-37 at the intermission. For the majority of the first half, USD was in the lead, but not by much. Despite shooting 42%, Oregon State managed to stay in the game by grabbing 10 offensive rebounds to extend possessions.
Midway through the first half, a minor jumper gave Oregon State a 19–18 lead. The team then spent the remainder of the half chasing the Toreros. On a three-pointer by Rataj late in the half, OSU narrowed the gap to 38-37 from San Diego’s six-point lead.
Early in the second half, the Beavers scored 10 baskets in a row to grab a 47-42 lead, and they never looked back. However, the Toreros reluctantly conceded. OSU rarely led by more than two possessions for the majority of the second half.
The Beavers led 72-66 as Fallah and Kingz started the free throw line parade in the last three minutes. With 1:02 remaining, OSU led 74-66, and the Beavers’ prospects improved when a USD bench technical resulted in four free throws.
In the last minute, Oregon State made nine free throws to end the game.
The Beavers play San Francisco at Gill Coliseum on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in their home finale and Senior Day game.
–Nick Daschel | @nickdaschel | @nickdaschel.bsky.social | [email protected] Get the newest news and the best stories by subscribing to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts. Your support is essential to our journalism. Sign up for OregonLive.com now.
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