In the Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals in Honolulu on Sunday, Oregon States overcame a sluggish second half to defeat Charleston 74-65.
Charleston came as close as four points in the closing minutes before the Beavers, who were ahead by as many as 14 points, responded with a strong finish.
A defense that kept the Cougars to 36% shooting helped Oregon State (9-2) defeat Charleston. In terms of field goal and scoring defense, the Beavers are in the top six in the nation.
At 5 p.m. (ESPNU), Oregon State will play the winner of Loyola (Chicago)-Oakland in the tournament semifinals.
Oregon State was led by Michael Rataj, who finished with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. 16 points were also scored by Damarco Minor. With Parsa Fallah scoring 14 points and Nate Kingz scoring 10, the Beavers had four players score in double figures.
For Charleston (8-3), Lazar Djokovic and Derrin Boyd each scored 13 points. Ante Brzovic, the Cougars’ top scorer this season, was restricted to eight points against Oregon State.
For the whole four minutes of the game, Oregon State was ahead. Fallah’s layup with 15:29 remaining in the first half gave the Beavers a decisive advantage, putting them ahead 35-26 at the half. Fallah scored ten points in a row after making a layup. In the first half, the Beavers had a 14-point lead.
It became interesting in the first 12 minutes of the second half as the Beavers held a significant lead. With 5:59 left, Charleston, behind 55-43, trimmed the deficit to four points with eight points in a row. However, Oregon State reorganized. After a few buckets from Rataj, Josiah Lake II converted a steal into a layup with 1:39 remaining to put the Beavers ahead 66-56.
In the last minute, the Cougars came within five points, but Minor and Lelevicius each made free throws in the last 29 seconds to seal the victory.
The contact information for Nick Daschel is 360-607-4824, [email protected], or @nickdaschel.
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