Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson:
Oregon State guard Hallice Cooke, forwards Angus Brandt and Eric Moreland:
Courtesy: OSU Sports Information
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Hallice Cooke scored a career-high 20 points and Eric Moreland added a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds as Oregon State took down UCLA, 71-67, on Sunday afternoon at Gill Coliseum.
The win improved the Beavers to 13-8 overall and 5-4 in Pac-12 play, their best record at the midway point of conference play since 1999.
Langston Morris-Walker came up clutch for the Beavers, hitting a three-ball that gave Oregon State a 61-54 lead with just 3:50 left to play in the contest.
UCLA would fight its way back into the game, and had a chance to take the lead, but Jordan Adams was tagged with an offensive foul after plowing over Angus Brandt under the hoop with 15 seconds to play and Oregon State holding a 67-66 edge.
The Beavers inbounded and found Nelson, who was fouled and sent to the line. The senior was clutch, converting both shots to give Oregon State a 69-66 edge with 11.5 seconds remaining. The Beavers would close out the night from the line and hold on to beat the Bruins.
“I couldn’t be happier for those guys in the locker room because all week, we have been challenging them that each game that they play is sort of history making for the program, at least in recent history,” Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson said. “They answered the bell; they answered the bell on Thursday night, and they answered the bell here on Sunday morning.” Cooke was sensational for the Beavers, going 7-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. The freshman was clutch, getting two free throws to fall late in the game that sealed up the victory for Oregon State.
Moreland was a force to be reckoned with in the paint, both offensively and defensively, as the big man posted his 19th career double-double. The Texas native was also able to dish out a career-high tying five assists to go along with his 5-of-8 shooting performance.
Brandt was consistent, posting 13 points, five rebounds and three assists on the afternoon.
The Beavers were able to hold UCLA (17-5, 6-3) to 38.6 percent shooting (22-of-57) from the floor. Oregon State converted on 54.5 percent (12-of-22) of its shots in the second half and finished with a 48 percent (24-of-50) clip for the game.
Length and size in the frontcourt helped the Beavers win the rebounding battle 39-32, and made it hard for UCLA to pass the ball inside, as Oregon State boasted a 17-11 assist differential. Second chance points also favored the Beavers, as they took outscored the Bruins 18-8.
UCLA was led by Kyle Anderson, who scored 18 points and grabbed 9 boards for the Bruins. Bryce Alford also played well, tallying 9 points after a 3-of-5 three-point shooting performance.
Roberto Nelson drilled a 30 foot three-ball to get the Beavers started offensively, tying up the game at 3-3 at the 18:34 mark. The Pac-12′s leading scorer did it again soon after, cashing in a deep three to knot it all up at six.
Oregon State took a 10-8 lead at 15:02 after Moreland grabbed a board and went coast-to-coast, finishing at the rim.
Cooke nailed his first three of the afternoon with 11:43 on the clock in the first frame, giving the Beavers a 13-12 advantage.
Oregon State was propped to a 16-14 lead behind a Brandt three at 10:04.
UCLA would march out to a 13-0 run that gave the Bruins a 27-16 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the opening half.
The Beavers chipped the Bruins edge to six, 27-21, after Cooke hit his second three-ball at 4:53. Oregon State would continue to fight, putting together a 9-0 run that cut the UCLA advantage to 27-25.
Moreland got the crowd of 4,509 on their feet after a massive tip slam off a Brandt miss at the 2:52 mark that kept the Beavers within two, 29-27.
Nelson dished out a perfect pass to Brandt on the baseline with 41 seconds left in the first stanza. The Australian dropped it in, narrowing the UCLA lead to 31-29 going into the locker room.
At the half, Oregon State boasted a 10-5 advantage in points off turnovers and assists while holding the Bruins to a 36.7 percent clip (11-for-30) from the field. Despite this, the Beavers trailed by two at the end of the opening period.
Cooke got the Beavers going right off the bat in the second frame, pulling up and drilling a jumper from the top of the key that tied the game at 31.
Moreland missed a free throw, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Oregon State was able to come up with a rebound and find Cooke, who converted on a jumper just outside the key, pushing the Beavers to a 34-33 lead.
Morris-Walker got the Beaver Dam rocking as he slammed home an alley-oop from Cooke at the 18:23 mark in the second half that gave Oregon State a 36-33 advantage. Cooke stayed hot, hitting his third triple of the day at 17:13, propelling the Beavers to a 39-35 edge.
The Beavers next bucket would come on a Devon Collier tip-in at 14:56 that pushed the lead to 41-35. On the next trip down court, Collier threw down a big dunk off an assist from Brandt that got the fans riled up.
UCLA was able to trim the Oregon State lead to 43-42 after Collier was called for a flagrant foul and the Jordan Adams hit both shots from the line.
The Bruins would take a 46-43 lead behind a 9-0 run. Oregon State would not secede, continuing to battle and keep it close, trailing 48-47 at the 9:39 mark.
Collier brought the Beavers within one, 52-51, with just 6:36 left to play after getting a layup to fall under the hoop. On the other end, he came up with a huge block, which led to Moreland finding Cooke in transition, who dropped in a layup that gave Oregon State a 53-52 lead with just 6:12 remaining in the game.
Cooke got everyone in Gill on their feet after drilling his fourth three-pointer of the game at 5:32 and advanced the Beavers edge to 56-52.
With just 2:30 remaining, the Beavers held a 65-54 advantage after four consecutive made free throws by Collier and Nelson.
A handful of turnovers and missed free throws allowed UCLA to trim the lead to 67-63 with 1:30 remaining in the game. The mistakes continued to hurt Oregon State, as the Bruins were able to get within one, 67-66, with 55 seconds left.
In position to win, the Beavers fouled intentionally as the Bruins crossed half court, and Anderson was sent to the line for the Bruins with six seconds left. Beaver Nation was rocking, which led to a split at the stripe for Anderson.
With just 5.1 seconds on the clock, Cooke was sent to seal it up from the stripe, and he did it, converting both shots to give the Beavers a 71-67 victory.
Coming up next, Oregon State travels south to take on Arizona State on Thursday at 8 p.m. PT in a nationally televised game on FOX Sports 1.
