Pope, Bilodeau help Oregon State hold off Utah Valley late 74-71

Dec 10, 2023, 12:38 am

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- — Jordan Pope and Tyler Bilodeau each hit two free throws in the final 15 seconds to allow Oregon State to stave off Utah Valley 74-71 Saturday.

Utah Valley knocked down nine straight field goals before missing a layup with 2:14 left and both teams shot better than 50% from the field.

The Wolverines held the lead for the majority of the first half and had it until Michael Rataj's 3-pointer with 13:32 left put the Beavers in front 46-44. Caleb Stone-Carrawell dunked with 10:14 left to put Utah Valley in front 52-50, but Rataj answered with a jumper to tie and Bilodeau knocked down a 3 to make it 55-52 and followed a K'Mani Doughty layup with another trey.

The lead changed hands multiple times before KC Ibekwe put Oregon State in front for good with his layup with 2:38 left and both teams went into a scoring drought. Pope hit two free throws with :15 left to give the Beavers a four-point lead, but Doughty cut the deficit to one with a 3-pointer. The Wolvernes fouled Bilodeau on the inbounds pass and his two free throws made it 74-71, and Stone-Carrawell missed a 3 with a second left.

Bilodeau hit 6 of 9 from the field, including 2 of 3 from distance, to finish with 19 points to lead Oregon State (6-3). Rataj finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Pope added 11 points. Oregon State finished shooting 25 of 49 (51%) from the field, including 7 of 18 from long range and was 17 of 24 from the free-throw line.

Stone-Carrawell led Utah Valley (6-4) with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Tanner Toolson added 17 points and Doughty added 12. The Wolverines shot 24 of 48 from the field (50%), including 7 of 16 from 3-point range.

Oregon State has a week off before it plays host to UTSA on Dec. 17. Utah Valley plays at Utah Saturday.

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