Oregon State Overcomes Record-Breaking Performance by Utah's Alfonso Plummer to Advance
LAS VEGAS, NEV. — In a thrilling finish the Oregon State Beavers have advanced to the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal for a match with the #1 seed Oregon. Despite the #9 seeded Utah Utes being in control for most of the game, a dominant second half performance by Oregon State and clutch shooting allowed them to literally steal the game in the final seconds.
In the first half the Beavers were struggling on the boards and had missed five straight threes. They also had to contend with Utah's Alfonso Plummer shooting the lights out. Plummer made seven three-pointers on ten attempts for 29 first half points. Plummer spurred the Utes to a 39-31 first half lead by making more shots than the rest of his team combined.
Oregon State was a deer in the headlights to start the second half. Alfonso Plummer made two more threes in the first three minutes of the half. Plummer broke Klay Thompson's record for made threes in a Pac-12 tournament game with his ninth triple, and with 17 minutes to spare in the game. This propelled the Utes to a 47-33 lead. The Beavers still struggled offensively but started to play defense and chipped away at the Utes lead. Plummer would make his tenth three of the game but then was shut down almost completely for the final 14 minutes. Oregon State's Tres Tinkle and Ethan Thompson allowed the Beavers to keep close while playing good defense. Utah dominated the glass but allowed a total of 15 fast-break points on their 17 turnovers.
The game was close in the final minutes. but OSU freshman Jarod Lucas caught fire. Lucas made two three-pointers in a two minute stretch to bring the game within three. Alfonso Plummer would answer with his eleventh three pointer of the game to give Utah a four-point lead with one minute remaining. Then Jarod Lucas made another three and the Beavers got a stop on defense. With under ten seconds to play Tres Tinkle kicked it to Jarod Lucas for his fourth three-point basket in as many second half attempts. Lucas buried the game-winner and stunned the Utes. Utah had the ball stolen away from them as time expired and their tournament hopes stolen as well. After leading the majority of the game, Utah's defense couldn't force the Beavers to miss for the final five minutes of the game.
Oregon State kept it close all game and then caught fire at the end. They advance to play the #1 seed Oregon tomorrow in the quarterfinal. Alfonso Plummer finishes with 35 points, 1 rebound, and 0 assists. Plummer went 12 for 17 while his teammates went 13 for 34. Oregon State's Tres Tinkle had 19 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Jarod Lucas scored all 12 of his points in the second half, and Kylor Kelley filled up the boxscore with 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.
