The Oregon State Beavers had not had a sold out crowd in five years, but on Thursday night, they welcomed the #16 Gonzaga Bulldogs to a maximum capacity Gill Coliseum. It was clear that Wayne Tinkle’s team was up for the game, matching Gonzaga on both ends in a back-and-forth first half that saw the Beavers enter the break with a slim lead. In the second half, it remained a tight affair, and after a late surge in the second half and outstanding execution in overtime, the Beavers earned a signature win, defeating Gonzaga 97-89. Here are three takeaways from the game.
#1 – Gonzaga Continues to Mishandle Pressure Situations
Converting leads and managing the game down the stretch has been a problem for Mark Few’s crew all year, and it was again in Corvallis. The Zags were slowly pulling away from Oregon State in the late second half thanks to energetic play from Ben Gregg (15 points and 13 rebounds), timely aggressiveness by Khalif Battle (15 points), and the usual dominance from Graham Ike (26 points and 9 rebounds). With 5 minutes to play, Andrew Nembhard made a free throw to make the lad 76-71. The Zags were in prime position to finish out what would be a good win in a tough road environment.
However, that was when Oregon State put together a 10-1 run in the closing stages, taking the lead with 38 seconds left. The stadium was rocking, and Gonzaga’s sputtering offense resulted in the team being on the ropes once again. Ike would knock down a miraculous three-pointer to send the game to overtime, but it was in this five minute period that Gonzaga looked even more off the pace.
Gonzaga has a serious problem closing out games. This was Oregon State’s Super Bowl but doesn’t matter. Outside of Graham Ike down the late stretch of the second half/OT before fouling out, no one stepped up.
— The Slipper Still Fits (@slipperstillfit) January 17, 2025
Gonzaga was outscored by Oregon State 14-6 in OT. Although they hung tough for the first two and a half minutes, the latter two and half saw three Gonzaga turnovers. They continued to not find the right shots on offense. Ike inexplicably did not touch the ball on multiple possessions in overtime and eventually fouled out. On the other end, Gonzaga was unable to get stops in the halfcourt and sent the Beavers to the free throw line several times. All in all, lack of attention to detail on defense and poor execution on offense once again resulted in a tough loss.
#2 – Oregon State Has Enough Talent to Play With Anyone in the Conference
Oregon State has long been an afterthought in the college basketball landscape, but they are firmly back on the map after Thursday night. It was an incredible team performance all around. Leading scorer Michael Rataj once again led from the front, scoring 29 points on 9-15 from the floor. 10 of his points came in overtime. Rataj was getting it done at all three levels, hitting multiple three-pointers, attacking Gonzaga’s bigs off the dribble, and getting to the free throw line, where he made 9 of his 10 attempts.
BIG SHOT MIKE!
We’re on CBS Sports Network…#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/2Pq9Ci9zNB
— Oregon State Hoops (@BeaverMBB) January 17, 2025
Guard Damarco Minor was big-time in the second half, getting to his spots with ease and scoring on whoever was guarding him. Battle was switched onto Minor after Nembhard found himself unable to hang with Minor, but the senior guard was not going to be slowed down. He made shot after shot on his way to 15 points, making tough fadeaways look all too easy.
Center Parsa Fallah also deserves massive praise. The junior from Iran battled with Ike all night long, putting up 15 points, 5 assists, and adding tough interior defense. Forward Nate Kingz had himself a huge first half and ended with 20 points on 6-9 from the floor and 3 made triples. Lastly, guard Josiah Lake II was a much-needed spark off the bench, scoring 11 points primarily from the charity stripe but more importantly registering 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, 2 of which were in the closing stages of the game.
The Beavers shot a blistering 58.5% from the field as a team, including almost 43% from beyond the arc. It was a complete team performance fueled by a raucous crowd that is going to bring significant optimism to the program.
What an interview 😂 @BeaverMBB @emily_proud caught up with Michael Rataj after Oregon State’s upset win over No. 16 Gonzaga. pic.twitter.com/TLVIsfctbi
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 17, 2025
#3 – The WCC Title is Totally Up For Grabs
The WCC has long been criticized as a two-team conference. While Gonzaga is a top team every year and the St. Mary’s Gaels are also used to being in the thick of it come tournament time, this year, the conference is as strong and as deep as it has ever been.
There’s currently a logjam at the top of the standings. St. Mary’s is currently in sole possession of first place but have yet to face many of the conference’s best. Gonzaga dropped their first game of their conference schedule and now sits at 5-1 in conference, followed closely by San Francisco. From there, there are three 4-2 squads with a lot to like, namely Oregon State, Santa Clara, and Washington State. All three of these teams have shown that they have tremendous talent and the ability to play very good basketball. It’s anyone’s game out west.
7-straight Beaver points! GILL IS ROCKING!
Live on CBS Sports Network!#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/vtivbuwJB1
— Oregon State Hoops (@BeaverMBB) January 17, 2025
Both teams are entering the toughest stretch of their schedule, as they will each face St. Mary’s in the coming weeks as well as have a rematch in Spokane that is sure to be another great game.
For More Great Basketball Content
Follow @HardwoodHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in the NBA and college basketball, click here!
