Oregon State men’s basketball blew a 19-point second-ahlf lead, falling 91-84 to Iona in double overtime Saturday night at the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Gaels (5-1) scored the final 10 points in the second overtime to stun the Beavers (3-3)
OSU suffered its third consecutive loss after a defeat at Oregon, and later against University of Evansville on Friday in the first game of the Paradise Jam.
The Beavers were led Saturday by Noah Amenhauser with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Isaiah Sy poured in 18, and Johan Munch had 12, but it wasn’t enough to get past the resilient Gaels.
Oregon State led 58-39 with 10:45 remaining, only to give it all back when Iona’s Luke Junger hit a three-pointer with one second left in regulation. The two teams exited the first overtime tied at 79-79. OSU took an 84-81 lead on a free throw by Amenhauser with 3:14 left in the second overtime.
It was the last time the Beavers scored.
It was a back-and-forth start, but the first half was defined by OSU’s aggression in the paint. Amenhauser showed off his footwork and scored 11 first half points on 5 of 5 shooting to carry the Beavers.
OSU took a 21-17 lead midway through the first half as Iona went cold from the field, missing 9 of 10 shots. The Beavers spread the ball around with all nine players who saw the court scoring in the first half.
At the break, it was 34-30 OSU. Iona shot just 34%, and OSU had 20 points in the paint.
The Beavers extended it to 45-31 with a breakneck start to the second half, including three buckets from Amenhauser. A three-pointer by Sy capped a 7-0 run.
Later on in the second half, an 11-0 run by the Beavers put OSU up 58-39. It all fell apart from there.
The Gaels would not go away, rattling off a 13-0 run of their own to make it 58-52 with 5:35 to go.
With OSU up just five with three minutes to go, Malcolm Christie hit a clutch three-pointer to boost the Beavers and break a 1 of 10 cold spell.
But in the final seconds, OSU committed a shot clock violation, giving the ball back to Iona for a chance to tie with 14 seconds to go.
The Gaels got the tying bucket. Jungers stepped back for the corner three to tie the game at 70-70 with 1.7 seconds left. After an OSU timeout, Dez White’s three-point heave at the buzzer fell short.
The Beavers scored the first three points of the first overtime, and went up 76-72 on a swished corner three-pointer by Sy.
Up 78-74, OSU surrendered a three by Toby Harris to cut it to one with 1:03 left in the first extra period.
The Beavers were able to stop the potential game-winner by Harris with 28 seconds to go, and Sy nabbed a steal with 12.7 seconds left, but he missed his second free throw.
The Gaels then got two free throws from C.J. Anthony, which sent the game to a second overtime, tied at 79.
Amenhauser hit one of two free throws with 3:13 left in the second overtime to put OSU up 84-81.
Iona retook the lead, 86-84, on a three-pointer by Harris with 1:39 to go. A missed three-pointer by Munch sent the Gaels to the line, where they closed the game out and slammed the door shut on OSU.
Next game: Oregon State (3-3) vs. UMass (3-3)
- When: Monday, Nov. 24
- Time: 9:30 am PT
- Where: Paradise Jam tournament (Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Stream: ESPN+
