CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle knew there would be games when his team didn’t shoot the ball particularly well and would need to win with defense.
That’s exactly what happened in a 63-53 victory over No. 14 Oregon on Saturday night.
The Beavers (14-9, 4-7 Pac-12) held the Ducks (18-6, 7-4) without a field goal for nearly nine minutes in the second half and overcame a 10-point deficit.
It was the third consecutive win for Oregon State in the 353rd edition of the Civil War, which is the most contested rivalry in college basketball.
“We said that in July when we brought everyone together that if we’re not shooting it, there’s going to be nights like that. We’ve got to hang our hat on ‘D,’” Tinkle said. “And that’s what the guys did tonight. If we put it all together, look out.”
Ethan Thompson scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half to lead Oregon State. Kylor Kelley, who is second in the nation in blocked shots, had 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and leading scorer Tres Tinkle added 13 points.
Zach Reichle, who finished with 11 points, hit a key 3-pointer to give the Beavers a 55-50 lead with 1:17 remaining.
Oregon State made all six of its free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
“It was just a lot of energy going into this game,” said Thompson, whose dunk in the final seconds gave a sellout crowd at Gill Coliseum one more reason to celebrate.
It was the second loss in a row for Oregon, which shot just 31% in the second half and 40% for the game. The Ducks fell one game behind No. 24 Colorado in the Pac-12 standings.
Payton Pritchard, the Pac-12’s leading scorer, had 16 points but struggled to get open looks against the Beavers’ man-to-man defense and was just 7 of 21 from the field.
“We want our shots to go in. Obviously, they’re not falling,” Pritchard said.
Oregon shot 32.8% in its previous game, a 70-60 loss at Stanford. The lack of a consistent inside scoring threat has been problematic.
Chris Duarte, part of the Ducks’ three-guard starting backcourt with Pritchard and Will Richardson, was the only other Oregon player in double figures with 11 points.
“Offensively, that’s on me,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “We were just not getting any flow that second half. We take a 10-point lead and score 13 points the rest of the game.”
An 8-0 Oregon run early in the second half culminated by Pritchard’s basket in the lane gave the Ducks their biggest lead at 40-30.
Back came the Beavers.
Reichle’s 3-pointer ended the Ducks’ run, and Tinkle’s six straight points cut the lead to 42-40.
Kelley’s alley-oop dunk tied the game at 42-all with 11:10 remaining.
Thompson’s fadeaway jumper in the lane gave the Beavers their first lead since late in the first half at 44-42 and culminated a 10-0 run.
Pritchard’s layup tied the game at 44-all with 6:06 remaining and was the Ducks’ first field goal since the 14:50 mark of the second half.
Reichle’s fast-break dunk put the Beavers on top 50-48 with 2:52 left, and Oregon State outscored Oregon 13-5 the rest of the way.
Oregon closed the first half on a 7-0 run and led 32-28 at the break. The first half was close the entire way with Oregon State holding the largest lead of five points.
BIG PICTURE:
Oregon: The Ducks have a good chance to get back on track with five of their last seven regular-season games at home, where they are 12-0 this season. … Pritchard made his 133rd consecutive start, breaking the school record the shared with E.J. Singler. … Forward Francis Okoro, who has started 18 games, missed Saturday’s game to attend his father’s funeral in Nigeria.
Oregon State:. Tinkle passed Ron Lee of Oregon to move into 10th place on the Pac-12’s career scoring list with 2,097 points. Tinkle also extended his double-figure scoring streak to 88 games, one away from matching the school record set by Mel Counts.
UP NEXT
Oregon hosts No. 24 Colorado on Thursday.
Oregon State hosts Utah on Thursday.
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