5 hours Ago By Nick Daschel
CORVALLIS – Oregon State got its biggest men’s basketball win of the 2024-25 season as Damarco Minor scored 19 points Saturday to lead the Beavers to a 67-55 win over UC Irvine at Gill Coliseum. OSU (7-2) never trailed in handing the Anteaters (9-1) their first loss of the season. Minor piled up the stats, as he also had nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Beavers to their third consecutive win.
UC Irvine is among Oregon State’s best nonconference opponents this season. The Anteaters, the Big West preseason favorites, came into Saturday ranked No. 23 in NCAA NET.
Oregon State was No. 51. Oregon State’s 7-2 start is its best since 2019-20, when the Beavers won nine of their first 10 games.
Michael Rataj scored 13 points and Parsa Fallah 12 for OSU, which overcame 17 turnovers by shooting 46% against one of the country’s top field goal defensive teams. Justin Hohn scored 10 points to top UC Irvine. Oregon State held the Anteaters leading scorer, Bent Leuchten to six points and four rebounds.
Oregon State never trailed during the first half as it took a 34-30 lead to halftime. The difference came during the final minute, as Liutauras Lelevicius scored two baskets, including one at the buzzer, to snap a 30-30 tie. The Beavers were on fire from the outset, hitting six of their first nine shots to take a 14-2 lead.
UC Irvine patiently responded, chipping away at the deficit by forcing OSU turnovers and hitting some three-pointers. The Anteaters, trailing 30-24, finally pulled even when Torian Lee and Myles Che hit back-to-back threes. The final four points of the first half was extended to a 10-0 run when Rataj hit a pair of free throws to rebuild the lead to 40-30.
A few minutes later, OSU took a 46-34 lead on a three by Isaiah Sy. The Beavers and Anteaters began to trade baskets, as OSU maintained a sizable cushion at 58-47 with 7:26 remaining. There was no rally by the Anteaters, as the Beavers defense held UC Irvine to two field goal during the final 7:44.
Oregon State returns to action Tuesday when the Beavers face Sacramento State at 7 p.m. at Gill Coliseum.
After that, the Beavers head to Hawaii to complete nonconference play in the eight-team Diamond Head Classic December 22-25. -- Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, [email protected] or @nickdaschel .
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