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Oregon State’s run for the Elite Eight was perhaps the biggest surprise of an NCAA tournament loaded with surprises.
The trip ended heartbreakingly on Monday.
Houston put the pincers on the Cinderella Pac-12 early and fought off a furious second-half rally for a 67-61 win to secure their ticket to the Final Four. The trip to the national semifinals marks the program’s first Final Four trip since Hakeem Olajuwon led Phi Slamma Jamma to his second consecutive title appearance in 1984.
Houston dominates early, but …
Houston, who allows just 57.5 points per game, set the tone early. Seven minutes into the game, Oregon State had more turnovers (five) than points as Houston opened up a 12-4 lead. Houston overtook Oregon State at halftime, 34-17, holding the Beavers to the lowest halftime point total of any NCAA tournament opponent.
Beavers rally with defense behind after half-time
But the Beavers and head coach Wayne Tinkle had their own defensive towers. They stirred the Cougars after halftime with a 1-3-1 zone while finding their own offensive pace in a 38-21 run. In a game that looked like a blowout at first, Oregon State rallied to a 55-55 draw on a 3-point Gianni Hunt with 3:48 remaining. After struggling to hold the ball at first, the Beavers didn’t return the ball once in preparation for the second-half trade.
But the last push belonged to Houston. Quentin Grimes responded with his own 3 points to regain the lead at 58-55. The Beavers would no longer get within two points of the Cougars as their unlikely tournament drew to a close.
“Toughness. That’s what coach (Kelvin Sampson) preached every day,” Grimes told CBS of not giving in after the OSU rally. “Difficult teams will win. This is what we went there and did today.
“When it got closer the coach told us to stay tough, to stay balanced, and that’s what we did.”
Grimes had 18 points and four assists in the win, including the 3 point to break the late tie. Teammate Marcus Sasser led the scoring effort with 20 points and three assists while connecting 5 of 13 3-point attempts. All-AAC goaltender and Defensive Player of the Year Dejon Jarreau filled the box with 10 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block.
Critical rebound edge for Cougars
The Cougars exploited their biggest advantage on the boards, where they passed the Beavers, 41-29, including a 19-7 advantage on the offensive glass. They needed those second chances to push back the rally from the state of Oregon
After spinning the ball more than eight times and shooting 35 percent in the first half, Oregon State finished with just 10 turnovers and a more than respectable 46.8 percent field success rate. Forward Maurice Calloo led the rally off the bench with 13 points, a high for the team, eight of which came in the last 11 minutes of the game.
Ethan Thompson – OSU’s top scorer – had 11 points, but needed 12 shots to get there on a 3-of-12 shot. He added seven rebounds and six assists.
This added to a valiant rally from a team that wouldn’t even have qualified for the NCAA tournament without a miracle run to the Pac-12 tournament title. It just wasn’t enough on Monday against a Houston team that lived up to their tough billing.
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