NCAA News Wire
Oregon State 58, Arizona 56
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Oregon State guard Langston Morris-Walker drove for the winning points with 26 seconds left as the Beavers upset No. 7 Arizona 58-56 in Corvallis for the program’s first win over a top 10 team in nearly 15 years.
Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell attempted to tie the game on the final possession, but his leaning 10-footer off the glass went off the rim and time ran out.
The Beavers followed a stifling defensive effort in the first half with hot shooting in the second half, when they made 11 of 17 shots from the field. Morris-Walker led OSU with 12 points; he also had eight rebounds.
Oregon State improved to 11-4 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-12 under first-year head coach Wayne Tinkle. OSU hadn’t beaten a top 10 team since March 2, 2000, when it won 70-69 over third-ranked Arizona.
The game featured 20 lead changes and 15 ties, including a 56-all, when Arizona forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made 1 of 2 free throws with 49.9 seconds left. Morris-Walker scored the winning points as the lane opened up as he drove from the right angle.
Oregon State guard Gary Payton II added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Hollis-Jefferson led the Wildcats (14-2, 2-1) with 14 points, including 10 of 13 from the line. McConnell had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Beavers improved to 10-0 at Gill Coliseum this season, matching their best home start since 1999.
Arizona has been ranked in the AP top 10 for 29 consecutive weeks, a streak that likely will end Monday.
Neither team led by more than four points in the first half, as Oregon State was able to cut off Arizona’s transition attack and turn it into a half-court game. The Beavers held the Wildcats to 26.1 percent shooting (6 of 23), but still trailed 21-20 at half because of UA’s edge at the free-throw line. Arizona was 8 of 10 in the first half; Oregon State had no attempts.
Oregon State used a 7-0 run and a stifling 2-3 zone defense to take a 14-10 lead at the 9:08 mark of the first half. The Wildcats went almost six minutes without a basket before point guard T.J. McConnell, attempting to throw a pass near the rim, had the ball go in to go to end the OSU run with 7:50 to go.
McConnell came up big again with his team trailing 20-17. He followed his steal and easy layup by stealing the in-bounds pass to set up a possession that ended with two free throws by forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for a 21-20 lead.
NOTES: Arizona started Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson on the wings for the second consecutive game. … Oregon State wore all orange, down to its shoes and shocks. … Former Arizona All-American Sean Elliott called the game as an analyst for FOX Sports 1. His former Pac-10 rival, Oregon State G Gary Payton, the father of Beavers junior G Gary Payton II, joined the telecast in the first half. … Payton II, who entered the game fourth nationally in steals and the Pac-12 leader at 2.9 per game, had two steals vs. Arizona, his eighth consecutive game with multiple thefts.
