Beavers Edge Buffs For Sweep

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Freshman guard Stephen Thompson Jr. made the winning free throws in the final 30 seconds for the second game in a row on Saturday and Oregon State edged Colorado 60-56 at Gill Coliseum to sweep the series against the Mountain schools.

Thompson Jr. hit two free throws with 29 seconds remaining to break a 55-55 standoff. Colorado's George King made 1 of 2 foul shots with 15 seconds left to trim the lead to 57-56, but Thompson Jr. was fouled on the in-bounds play and made the front end of a two-shot foul with 14 seconds to play to restore the two-point lead, 58-56.

He missed the second attempt, but senior guard Gary Payton II snared the offensive rebound, was fouled, and then hit two clinching free throws with 12 seconds to play.

The Beavers (14-8, 5-6 Pac-12) thus swept the mountain schools by a combined six points. On Thursday, Thompson Jr. made three free throws with one-tenth of a second remaining to give OSU a 71-69 victory over Utah.

Payton II had 17 points, a career-high seven steals, six rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot in an impressive 37-minute performance, thrilling the crowd of 6,517. Thompson Jr. added 14 points, three rebounds, two blocked shots and an assist off the bench and was the only other Beaver in double figures.

The last-minute heroics closed out a see-saw game that featured 11 lead changes and seven ties. Paced by Payton II's 12 points, OSU overcame a 1-for-11 start from the floor and led 30-19 at halftime but the Buffaloes (17-7, 6-5) scored the first eight points of the second half to get back into contention.

Neither team led by more than three points over the final 16 minutes until Payton II hit his clinching free throws.

Colorado's final advantage was 52-50 with 3:56 to play. Two Jarmal Reid free throws tied the game with 3:32 left and OSU went ahead 55-52 on a free throw by Payton II with 3:14 to play and his basket with 2:25 left.

A 3-pointer by Xavier Dalton as the shot clock expired knotted the game for the final time, 55-55, with 1:54 left. The teams traded steals over the next 80 seconds to set up Thompson Jr.'s closing free throws.

OSU held Colorado to just one basket over the final five minutes. From that point on, the Buffaloes were 1-for-5 from the field and had four turnovers as the Beavers clamped down defensively.

The Beavers were outrebounded 47-29, leading to Colorado's 28-18 advantage in points in the paint and a 20-9 edge in second-chance points. However, they overcame that discrepancy by forcing a season-high 24 turnovers, which they parlayed into 21 points.

The Beavers resume Pac-12 action at Stanford at 6 p.m. Thursday in a game that will be televised by Fox Sports 1.

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