Michael Rataj scored Oregon State’s first eight points of overtime and finished with a career-high 29 to lead the Beavers to a 97-89 upset of No. 16 Gonzaga on Thursday night in West Coast Conference play at Corvallis, Ore.
Nate Kingz scored 20 points and Parsa Fallah had 16 before fouling out as Oregon State (14-5, 4-2 WCC) improved to 11-1 at home this season. Damarco Minor added 15 points and Josiah Lake II had 11.
Graham Ike recorded 26 points and nine rebounds before fouling out for Gonzaga (14-5, 5-1). Ben Gregg had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Khalif Battle also scored 15 points for the Bulldogs.
The meeting was the first in 34 years between the two Pacific Northwest programs. Oregon State has won 26 of the 28 all-time meetings. Gonzaga had never qualified for the NCAA Tournament when the teams last met.
Rataj’s spree gave Oregon State a 91-87 lead with 2:01 left in overtime. Gonzaga pulled within two before the Beavers’ Liutauras Lelevicius scored on a layup with 36.5 seconds left. Lake and Rataj each added two free throws to put it away. Rataj had 10 points in the extra session.
Ryan Nembhard added 13 points, 10 assists and six rebounds and Nolan Hickman had 11 points for the Bulldogs, who held a 41-28 rebounding advantage, including a dominating 19-3 on the offensive boards. The Bulldogs shot 41.7 percent from the field and were 9 of 25 (36 percent) from 3-point range.
Oregon State shot a stellar 58.5 percent from the field and hit 6 of 14 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc.
The Beavers, who trailed by six in the second half, caught the Bulldogs at 77 on Minor’s jumper with 2:16 left in regulation.
Two baskets by Rataj gave the Beavers an 81-77 lead with 38.2 seconds left.
Gregg buried a 3-pointer with 21.4 seconds remaining to move Gonzaga within one.
Lake made two free throws to give Oregon State an 83-80 lead with 16.1 seconds left before Ike drained a tying 3-pointer with five seconds left.
The Bulldogs scored 13 of the first 19 points in the second half to take a 58-52 lead.
Oregon State recovered to tie the score at 63 on a 3-pointer by Minor with 11:08 remaining.
Kingz scored 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting — including three treys — in the first half to help Oregon State lead 46-45 at the break.
–Field Level Media
