Oregon State Falls Just Short To UCF 76-75 In College Basketball Crown
750 The Game Staff
After a turbulent few weeks that saw departures of multiple key players via the transfer portal, Oregon State men’s basketball accepted an invite to the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas, Nev.
The Beavs played a highly-competitive first-round game against UCF on Tuesday afternoon, falling just short 76-75, ending the season.
In defeat, Liutaura Lelevicius impressed with 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting, while freshman Maxim Logue had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and guard DaMarco Minor had 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Minor connected on what appeared to be a go-ahead bucket with under ten seconds remaining, but a time out had already been called from the sideline by head coach Wayne Tinkle. On the ensuing inbound, Lelevicius heaved a three-pointer in the waning seconds that missed. UCF collected the rebound despite some physical battling in the paint, and the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Oregon State was down 45-36 at half but outscored the Knights 39-31 in the second half and had slim leads at multiple points down the stretch.
OSU finishes the season with a 20-13 overall record.