INDIANAPOLIS – The season that refuses to end added another exciting chapter on Saturday afternoon when Oregon State advanced to the Elite Eight after a 65-58 victory over Chicago’s Loyola in a midwestern regional semifinal at Bankers Life Fieldhouse .
The Beavers (20-12) became the second 12 seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament to win a spot in Elite Eight. Ethan Thompson scored 22 points and OSU held Loyola with 33% of shots to close the eight-headed Ramblers.
Oregon State, which needed three wins to win the Pac-12 tournament two weeks ago just to get a spot on the NCAA, won its first spot on the Elite Eight since 1982.
The Beavers advance to the regional final on Monday, where they will face the Houston-Syracuse winner on Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Time is TBA.
Oregon State, which held the three points for the first nine minutes, took control at halftime and never looked back during the second half to secure their third victory at the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
This is Beavers’ seventh regional final, but the first since the NCAA expanded the tournament field to 64 teams. The last time Oregon State reached Elite 8 was in 1982, when the Beavers lost to Georgetown Hoyas, led by Patrick Ewing, 69-45.
The state of Oregon reached the Final Four twice in school history, in 1949 and 1963.
Warithe Alatishe double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Jarod Lucas scored eight points, all in the second half, for Oregon State.
Cameron Krutwig had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Loyola (26-5).
Oregon State returned on Saturday to Bankers Life, the site of its first round victory over Tennessee. The magic was not there early, since Loyola’s defense had the staples in the Beavers. OSU did not score his first field goal until the 13:46 mark.
The Beavers’ first chance came at 10:43 the end of the first half, when Lucas Williamson scored his second foul. When the Missouri Valley defensive player of the year went to the bench, things started to come loose for OSU. Losing 9-3, Thompson hit a three-point ball, Andela dodged a rebound and Maurice Calloo buried a baseline jumper to give Oregon State their first advantage.
Krutwig hit a 5-footer to place the Ramblers at 16-13 with 5:48 remaining. That was all for Loyola the rest of the time, with Oregon State scoring 11 points for a 24-16 lead at halftime.
It was the lowest scoring half of the 2021 NCAA Tournament to date.
The state of Oregon kept the Ramblers up against four field goals in the first half. Krutwig had 3 out of 5 during the first half, the rest of Loyola’s cast 1 out of 18.
The Beavers did not hesitate to leave the break. Four minutes into the second half, OSU increased the lead to 33-22 after Jarod Lucas hit his top three in the match.
Thompson continued to put his fingerprints throughout the game. With the kick timer about to expire, he hit a 10-foot contest to put OSU at 35-24. Then Thompson urged Williamson to make his third foul. The Beavers took advantage of Loyola’s mental lapse when Alatishe threw a full-block pass to Thompson, who gave a two-handed dunk to Oregon State’s biggest advantage at 37-24.
Loyola made a brief run, adding six consecutive points to reduce the deficit to 37-30. Then it became a game of exchange baskets, as Calloo and Thompson advanced. Oregon State led 45-37 with 7:47 remaining.
The Ramblers approached, when Norris hit a three-point basket, then Aher Uguak a tray, reducing the OSU advantage to 47-44. The Beavers responded, Lucas hit a corner pitcher and Zach Reichle made two free throws for 51-44 and 2:43 remaining.
Loyola continued his run. Keith Clemons hit a three-pointer, then a Marquise Kennedy drive reduced the deficit to 53-49. Lucas gave Oregon State was taking a deep breath in the next possession, dropping a three-point lead to a seven-point lead and a 1:10 left.
The beavers closed the win on the free-throw line during the final 70 seconds.
Participation was limited to about 3,000 for Saturday’s game, according to the NCAA’s pandemic rules. Oregon State received 350 tickets for the game.
–Nick Daschel | [email protected] | @nickdaschel