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.