Oregon
Besieged by the portal, Oregon State drops heartbreaker to UCF in College Basketball Crown
Decimated by the transfer portal and carrying just eight scholarship players on its roster, Oregon State men’s basketball just missed, falling to Central Florida 76-75 Tuesday in the first round of the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas.
Knights forward Moustapha Thiam hit a free throw with 55.8 seconds remaining to break a 75-75 tie.
“It was something new, because we hadn’t been in this situation with so much time in between games,” Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle said. “It was a tough balancing act.”
The Beavers, whose season ended with the loss, were without their top three scorers, who were among four OSU players to enter the transfer portal since it opened March 24. Among those absent was leading scorer Michael Rataj, who committed to Baylor on Monday.
“I really credit these guys,” Tinkle said, pointing his thumbs at Liutauras Lelevicius and Damarco Minor. “These guys, especially the last couple days, for the leadership they provided on the court in practices to keep guys fresh, engaged, believing, excited.
“It was tough, because there were discussions about should we participate. I said, ‘This is gonna be a hell of an event, you guys have earned it, even if there’s only six guys we’re going to go down there and represent Oregon State and Beaver nation the right way.”
Oregon State took two cracks at the win during the final 10 seconds. Lelevicius was first, but his drive to the basket was blocked by Thiam. Minor collected the rebound, and hit a baseline jumper with 5.1 seconds left. But shortly before Minor took the shot, OSU coach Wayne Tinkle called a timeout, negating the basket.
Following the timeout, Lelevicius’ three-pointer clanked off the rim, the Beavers’ final scoring threat.
While the Knights (18-16) have dealt with portal departures of their own, they got big performances Tuesday from Tyler Hendricks, Darius Johnson and Nils Machowski with 15 points apiece.
Lelevicius ended with a career high 20 points, and Maxim Logue added 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Oregon State (20-13). Logue’s points and rebounds were a career high. Minor poured in 16 points and had eight rebounds.
Oregon State thrived in the wicked pace early on, taking a 19-12 lead midway through the first half. But its depth and conditioning was tested as the half waned on, as UCF found a way to settle into the game and start hitting open looks.
Buoyed by eight three-pointers, the Knights took a 45-36 lead into halftime. The Beavers surrendered a 7-0 run heading into the break, appearing out of gas.
“We gave them a couple touchdown turnovers, silly passes that led to layups,” Tinkle told FS1 at the half, noting he expected his inexperienced group to come out in the second half “with their ears pinned back.”
Tinkle’s words came to fruition in the early minutes of the second stanza, as Oregon State rattled off an 8-2 run to cut the UCF lead to 47-44. Minor controlled the pace, and the Beavers’ collective effort ticked up a notch.
The Knights settled down once more, taking a 57-50 lead as the second half progressed, led by the shooting of Hendricks.
Oregon State retook the lead at 62-61 with 9:21 left on a three-point play by Logue, who during one stretch of the second half scored 10 consecutive points for the Beavers.
Dior Johnson’s fastbreak layup gave UCF a 69-66 lead with 5:34 to go, forcing a timeout by Tinkle to settle his group. The lead would change hands repeatedly in the ensuing minutes, leading into a basket by Josiah Lake II with 2:54 to go that put the Beavers up, 72-71.
UCF finished it out, sending the shorthanded Beavers packing. But those who stayed were proud of doing so.
“You’ve got to finish what you start,” Minor said. “No matter what guys try to do, that’s their journey. You’ve got to stick to the gameplan. I’m a loyal guy. Coach gave me this opportunity and I’m gonna bang out with him.”
— Ryan Clarke covers college sports for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at RClarke@Oregonian.com or on Twitter/X: @RyanTClarke. Find him on Bluesky: @ryantclarke.bsky.social.
BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
The Oregon Ducks have been progressing through the class of 2027 with hopes of landing some of their top target’s commitment on both the offense and the defense.
With many names left on the board, the Ducks have started to receive some great news, including some news from someone they have been targeting since they offered back in January of 2025.
Darius Johnson Releases His Top Four Schools
One of the Ducks top targets’ in the 2027 class at the cornerback position is Darius Johnson. Johnson recently released his top schools with Hayes Fawcett, as he is entering a crucial part of his recruitment. The four schools he has listed at the top include the California Golden Bears, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks.
Johnson is one of the better cornerbacks in the country. He currently ranks as the nation’s No. 178 prospect in the country, No. 20 player at the position, and the No. 14 player in the state of California, according to Rivals. Landing his commitment would be major for any of the schools, as he is someone who could see the field early due to his size, and his growing ability to lockdown a side of the field all by himself.
More About Darius Johnson
Johnson currently measures in at 6-1 and 155 pounds, and will be someone who continues to add weight through his high school program, and will eventually have the chance to really improve his frame when he gets to college. As of now, each of the four schools has a solid chance to win its recruiting battle, but there seems to be a clear leader at this moment.
The leader for the Ducks target seems to be the Michigan Wolverines, who have the only scheduled official visit at this moment. It seems likely that the talented prospect will schedule his other official visits sooner rather than later now that he has officially cut down his list. If the Ducks want to land his commitment, they will need to get him on an official visit because they are likely trailing at this point.
What If He Committed to Oregon Today?
If he were to commit to the Ducks today, he would be the ninth commitment for the Ducks in the class of 2027. He would also be the third cornerback commit for the Ducks in the class of 2027, which is a position they have been recruiting heavily. The cornerbacks the Ducks have at this moment are four-star Ai’King Hall from the state of Alabama and four-star Josiah Molden from the state of Oregon.
Some of their other commits at this moment include four-star EDGE Rashad Streets, four-star defensive linemen Zane Rowe, and four-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett. This class is shaping up to be another top-five class if the pieces continue to fall into place for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
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