CORVALLIS – Oregon State came back from 13 points down in the second half Sunday to beat Utah 68-67 for its first Pac-12 win of the season. The victory broke a 14-game losing streak and was the Beavers’ first win of the calendar year.
Key runs: Oregon State built a 16-6 lead on a 10-0 run that forced a Utah timeout after back-to-back three-pointers by Stephen Thompson Jr. and Kendal Manuel. But the Utes answered, closing the half on a 22-8 run. They made a 12-2 run when Thompson went to the bench with two fouls. Utah took a 28-24 lead into halftime.
OSU battled to get the deficit to 40-36 with 14:04 to play before the Utes went on an 11-2 run, topped off by back-to-back three-pointers from reserve Gabe Bealer. The 51-38 lead was their largest of the game.
However, the Beavers went down 60-50 with five minutes to play but went on a 14-4 run to tie the game 64-64 with 50.6 seconds remaining.
It was over when: Oregon State trailed 67-66 with 27 seconds remaining but forced Utah into a five-second violation under its own basket. Stephen Thompson Jr. drove for a layup with 10 seconds to play and Utah traveled on its next possession. After Gligorije Rakocevic missed both free throws with less than three seconds to play, Kyle Kuzma missed a shot from beyond half court at the buzzer.
Key stats: Utah had 42 of its 67 points in the paint and won the rebounding battle 36-25. However, the Utes made 17 turnovers. That was the most Oregon State has forced since the start of Pac-12 play.
Top performances: Stephen Thompson Jr. had a solid bounce-back game after struggling against Colorado. He finished with 31 points on 11 of 17 shooting.
Utah forward Kyle Kuzma returned from missing a loss at No. 7 Oregon with a sprained ankle. He had 19 points and nine rebounds.
Next up: Oregon State will play at Stanford on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
— Danny Moran
dmoran@oregonian.com
@DannyJMoran
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