Oregon State’s furious second-half rally isn’t enough, as Houston edges Beavers 67-61 in Midwest Regional final

INDIANAPOLIS – Oregon State’s incredible spellbinding men’s basketball ride that went for more than a month and included wins in six consecutive season-elimination games came to an end Monday night in Lucas Oil Stadium.

It wasn’t without a fight, with OSU erasing a 17-point second-half deficit before falling short, as Houston pulled out a 67-61 win in the Midwest Regional final.

Houston hit 11 three-pointers, including Quintin Grimes’ go-ahead three with 3:21 remaining. The Beavers’ undoing was a first half where they scored a season-low 17 points.

Houston (28-3) advances to the Final Four, where the Cougars play the Baylor-Arkansas winner Saturday in Lucas Oil Stadium. Game time is either 2 or 5:30 p.m. The national championship game is Monday, April 5 at 6 p.m.

Ethan Thompson had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Maurice Calloo scored 10 points to lead Oregon State (20-13).

Marcus Sasser hit five three pointers and scored 20 points for Houston.

OSU came up short of the school’s third Final Four berth, the last coming in 1963. This was the Beavers’ first Elite Eight appearance since 1982, when Oregon State lost to Georgetown 69-45 in the West Regional final.

The Beavers won 20 games this season for the first time during coach Wayne Tinkle’s seven-year tenure. The conference title was the first in school history.

Oregon State took a long, winding path to Monday’s regional final.

The Beavers were on the outside looking in at the NCAAs for the entire regular season. But Oregon State caught fire during the postseason, winning the Pac-12 1/4 u2032s automatic NCAA Tournament berth by claiming the school’s first-ever conference tournament title. Then, as the 12-seed, the Beavers tore through the Midwest bracket, beating Tennessee, Oklahoma State and Loyola of Chicago by a collective margin of 31 points to land in the Elite Eight.

As was the case during Saturday’s regional semifinal against Loyola, Oregon State’s offense stumbled early. The Beavers had five turnovers in the first seven minutes. OSU had only six points during the first 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, Houston was cooking from the perimeter. Led by Sasser, the Cougars hit five threes during the first 16 minutes to take a 28-17 lead. OSU found some rhythm at the offensive end, as Maurice Calloo and Tariq Silver hit three-pointers. But the Beavers couldn’t stop the Cougars, and were merely trading points.

Houston closed out the half on a 9-0 run for a 34-17 halftime lead. The Cougars shot only 35 percent during the first half, but held OSU scoreless during the final 4:48. The Beavers had only seven first-half field goals and made 1 of 6 free throws.

Oregon State wasn’t without hope, though, as the Beavers have won five times this season after trailing by double figures.

Oregon State had a chance to strike some doubt in Houston. The Beavers started the second half on a 7-2 run. But the Cougars pounded the boards, and twice hit three-pointers after multiple offensive rebounds to keep a healthy 42-27 lead and 14:54 remaining.

Eight minutes into the second half, OSU scored more points than it had during the entire first half. Yet the Beavers were only able to trim four points off the deficit as Houston continued to make threes.

Trailing 48-33, Oregon State finally started getting some stops as it changed defenses to a 1-3-1 zone. The Beavers inched closer, getting the deficit down to 10 when Calloo hit a pair of free throws with eight minutes left.

Oregon State continued to surge, with Houston in foul trouble. The Beavers went on a 10-0 run, capped on a putback by Roman Silva, to cut the Houston lead to 52-48 and 6:15 remaining.

Following a three-pointer from Houston’s Kiyron Powell, Oregon State got to within 55-52 on baskets by Hunt and Alatishe.

Oregon State pulled even at 55 on a three-pointer by Hunt with 3:46 left. But the Cougars responded with their next possession, when Grimes knocked down a three to give Houston the lead.

The magic came to an end down the stretch. The Beavers were unable to counter Grimes’ go-ahead basket, and Houston’s defense put away the game.

—Nick Daschel 5/8 ndaschel@oregonian.com 5/8 @nickdaschel