Field Level Media
Mar 11, 2020
Jarod Lucas' 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left Wednesday gave eighth-seeded Oregon State its only lead of the second half and a 71-69 win over No. 9 Utah in the opening game of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.
Lucas also canned a 3 with 51.8 seconds remaining to bring the Beavers (19-13) within 69-68. Zach Reichle stole the ball from Both Gach with 23.9 ticks left and Oregon State called timeout to set up the winning sequence.
Oregon State advances to Thursday's quarterfinals, where it will play top-seeded Oregon. Meanwhile, the Utes (16-15) went one-and-done despite a remarkable performance from 6-foot-1 freshman guard Alfonso Plummer.
Plummer canned 11 of 16 3-pointers and scored a game-high 35 points for Utah. His last 3 came with 1:13 left to give it a 69-65 edge, but Lucas came up with the last say.
Three other players joined Lucas, who tallied 12 points, in double figures for the Beavers. Tres Tinkle scored a team-high 19, while Kylor Kelley also added points and Ethan Thompson had 11.
Timmy Allen contributed 13 points for the Utes, who wasted a 33-21 rebounding advantage and Plummer's huge game. They committed 17 turnovers.
Oregon State controlled the first half of the first half, establishing its biggest lead at the 14:19 mark when Kelley dunked off a turnover to cap a 9-2 run and give it a 15-8 lead.
But Utah whittled away at the Beavers' lead, coming up with a 9-2 spurt of its own. Plummer finished it when he turned Mikael Jantunen's offensive rebound into his second 3-pointer for a 17-17 tie with 8:29 left. That was a preview of future attractions.
The Utes took their first lead later in the half with an Allen layup with 5:24 remaining that made it 24-23, but it was Plummer who dominated the final 3 1/2 minutes. He gunned in four straight 3-balls in a span of 2:15, enabling Utah to head for intermission with a 39-31 advantage.
--Field Level Media