Oregon
Oregon State Men’s Hoops Stuns Gonzaga, 97-89 in OT
For the first time in 34 years, Gonzaga brought its men’s basketball team to Gill Coliseum.
Over nine thousand Beavers & Bulldogs fans joined them. The first sellout crowd for a Gill Coliseum men’s basketball game in five years got their money’s worth tonight: an overtime thriller that ended in a court-storming.
In the first four minutes, Oregon State raced ahead. A long-range elbow jumper from Demarco Minor gave Oregon State a 4 point edge, and then Nate Kingz stole a Gonzaga pass, drew a foul, and sank two free throws. At the first timeout, Oregon State led 13-7.
Gonzaga slashed the margin to 1 on a Ryan Nembhard wide open three-pointer, after two Oregon State defenders collided. Then, a Bulldogs’ fastbreak bucket after a Michael Rataj miss gifted Gonzaga their first lead of the night.
Teams traded buckets for the next few minutes. With 7:59 remaining, Josiah Lake stole a cross-court pass from Ryan Nembhard and flew down the floor for a Beavers layup, 25-21 Oregon State.
Late in the first half, Nate Kingz erupted. First, the former McNary HS standout spun free of a Gonzaga defender and drilled a jumper near the top of the key. Then, Kingz launched a three point bomb. The crowd surged, Gonzaga coach Mark Few hastily called for timeout, and the scoreboard lit up 35-29 Oregon State.
In the final moments of the opening period, Michael Rataj kept the pace. The German senior notched a second-chance putback layup, but Khalif Battle upset the Beaver wing’s efforts with a buzzer-beating three. At halftime, Oregon State led by the narrowest of margins, 46-45.
Gonzaga’s Graham Ike opened the second half with a game-tying layup, then seized the lead on a free-throw, and the Bulldogs went on a 9-3 run.
Oregon State pulled within 1 on a Demarco Minor stepback jumper with 12:49 left. Then, Parsa Fallah drew a pair of free throws, but the Beaver big couldn’t convert either attempt, and Gonzaga kept its advantage.
But not for long. Soon, Demarco Minor sprang open. As the shot clock wound down, the Beavers guard nailed a game-tying three pointer with 11:08 remaining.
The two West Coast Conference foes resumed their battle. Following a Nolan Hickman layup that lifted Gonzaga back ahead, Nate Kingz tied it with two free throws. Gonzaga’s Graham Ike swung the lead back to the Bulldogs with consecutive makes, 69-65 with 9 minutes left.
Gonzaga seemed poised to land another blow, ahead 76-71 with 5 minutes remaining, but Ryan Nembhard walked. Possession went to the Beavers, who climbed within three on a Michael Rataj jumper. With two minutes left, Demarco Minor brought the crowd to a fever pitch with a game tying fadeaway. Then Michael Rataj hooked one from the right elbow, soaring the Beavers ahead 79-77.
Under a minute remaining, the game got even better. Michael Rataj extended Oregon State’s lead on a beautiful layup that kissed the top of the glass before dropping through the twine, but Clackamas’ own Ben Gregg answered with a Gonzaga three-pointer.
From there, Gonzaga quickly fouled Oregon State. A pair of Beavers free throws made it 83-80 Oregon State with :20 remaining. Needing a triple, the heavily-favored Bulldogs roared back on a game-tying Graham Ike three-pointer with 4 seconds left.
Overtime swung back-and-forth as the teams traded baskets. Leading 89-87 with 2:01 left, Michael Rataj drove inside, drew a decisive fifth personal foul on Graham Ike, and strolled to the charity stripe. The extinguished Gonzaga big finished with 26 points on 9-14 shooting. Rataj calmly hit a pair of free throws, as Oregon State moved ahead 91-87 with 2:01 in OT.
The next Gonzaga possession was denied by a Josiah Lake steal. As time dwindled under a minute, Gonzaga clawed within 2 on a Braden Huff jumpshot.
They never got any closer. Liutauras Lelevicius spun free for a layup, 93-89 Beavers. Then free throws from Josiah Lake and Michael Rataj shut the door. Fans stormed the floor at the overtime buzzer, and the Beavers earned a signature win.
Oregon State moves to 14-5 overall, 4-2 in West Coast Conference play. Gonzaga drops to 14-5 overall and 5-1 in the conference, a half game behind St Mary’s. The Beavers have now won thirteen consecutive matchups against Mark Few’s blue-chip program from Spokane.
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The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
A 73-year-old man was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison for the 1983 killing of his then-girlfriend. It was a case that went unsolved for more than 40 years.
The sentence was announced by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
In July 1983, Teresa Peroni, 27, was reported missing after attending a party in the Selma area of Josephine County southwest of Grants Pass. She was last seen walking in the woods with her boyfriend Marcus Sanfratello.
Authorities deemed Peroni’s disappearance suspicious, but they lacked evidence to bring charges against anyone.
In 1997, a human skull was found on private property near where Peroni disappeared. In 2024, authorities in Josephine County reopened the case. In addition to re-interviewing witnesses, they collected new DNA evidence to build a case against Sanfratello.
With the DNA, experts at the University of North Texas confirmed the skull was Peroni’s.
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A grand jury indicted Sanfratello of second-degree murder, on June 27, 2025.
Police arrested Sanfratello in Chico, California the next day. He was then extradited to Oregon to face the charge of murder.
Under a plea agreement, Sanfratello pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
He will serve at least 10 years in prison, Oregon’s attorney general’s office said.
“For Teresa Peroni’s family, this has been a 43-year wait for an answer they never should have had to wait for,” Rayfield said in a news release. “Cases like this remind us of why we don’t give up. It doesn’t matter how many years have passed — if someone took a life, we’re going to keep working until we can hold them accountable.”
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