Oregon State Sneaks by North Dakota State in MBB Season Opener

Oregon State got all they could handle from the visiting North Dakota State Bison on Monday night, and it was a Josiah Lake drive-and-finish with under three seconds left that lifted the Beavers to a 67-65 victory on opening night.

Wayne Tinkle’s squad came out strong, bursting out to a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes. But the Bison were able to respond, jumping out to a 13-10 lead with 11:26 left in the first half. Oregon State was then able to reclaim the lead after a couple of Isaiah Sy three-point jumpers, pushing ahead by five points. The Bison would go on a 19-12 run to end the half, however, and the Beavers trailed 32-30 heading into the locker room.

The opening minutes of the second half saw multiple lead changes, with neither side able to gain much separation. After they fell behind 53-49, the Beavers went on a run, and found thesmelves ahead by six with just 5:49 left to play.

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But the Bison wouldn’t go away. Sparked by back-to-back dunks from Markhi Strickland, NDSU went on a quick 6-0 run to tie the game. A Dez White three-pointer put the Beavers back in front momentarily, but this lead quickly evaporated, and the Bison went up 65-64 with 2:17 remaining. Johan Munch hit one of two free throws on the following possession, tying the game at 65. Both teams came away with some stops on the defensive end, and the score remained deadlocked.

After grabbing a defensive rebound with 26 seconds left and the shot clock now off, the Beavers let the clock tick down as they set up their offense. With under five seconds to play, Josiah Lake pulled off a beautiful left-handed drive and finished at the rim, putting the Beavs ahead 67-65 with just two seconds on the clock.

But it wasn’t over yet. Inbounding from their own baseline, NDSU tried a football-style throw towards the sideline, and it was tipped out of play by a Beaver, giving the Bison one last chance to inbound the ball in OSU’s half. Guard Andy Stefonowicz was able to get off a three-point look at the buzzer, but it was a heavily-contested shot that came up well short, and Oregon State walked away with a two-point victory.

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The Beavers were fairly balanced in their scoring, as five different players reached double figures. Sophomore SF Isaiah Sy led the team in scoring, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists. Missouri State transfer Dez White was equally impressive. He had ten points on the night and also led the Beavers in assists with five. Junior guard Josiah Lake, who played all but five minutes, scored ten points and also grabbed eight rebounds, leading OSU in this category.

With the win, Oregon State improves to 12-0 in opening games under Wayne Tinkle.

The Beavers are back in action on Friday night, when they take on the University of Illinois Chicago at Gill Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT

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