Dante scores 22 with late dunk, sends Oregon past Oregon State 60-58
Oregon State guard Dexter Akanno drives to the basket against Oregon during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in Corvallis, Ore. Credit: AP/Amanda Loman
CORVALLIS, Ore. — N'Faly Dante scored 22 points and dunked the game-winner with one second left as Oregon held off a furious rally by Oregon State to post a 60-58 victory on Saturday night.
Dante made 9 of 13 shots for the Ducks (17-8, 9-5 Pac-12 Conference), who beat the Beavers (11-15, 3-12) for a sixth straight time — including three two-point wins in a row in Corvallis.
Jermaine Couisnard hit a jumper to give Oregon a 51-38 lead with 6:19 left to play. Michael Rataj had a rebound basket and a 3-pointer in a 9-2 run and Oregon State closed within 53-47.
Dante's layup pushed Oregon's advantage to 58-51 with 2:05 remaining. Dexter Akanno answered with a layup, Chol Marial made 1 of 2 free throws, Tyler Bilodeau scored in the paint and Jordan Pope sank two free throws with 40 seconds left to tie the game at 58.
Couisnard and Brennan Rigsby misfired for the Ducks, but Rigsby grabbed his miss with four seconds to go, leading to Dante's game-winning dunk.
Jackson Shelstad finished with 15 points for Oregon and Couisnard pitched in with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Rataj led the Beavers with 17 points and nine rebounds. Bilodeau contributed 12 points and six boards. Akanno and Pope scored 10 apiece. Pope, who averages a team-best 17 points per game, made just 4 of 17 shots and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts.
Oregon State guard Josiah Lake II drives to the basket as Oregon guard Gabe Reichle (23) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in Corvallis, Ore. Credit: AP/Amanda Loman
Shelstad had 11 points, Dante scored 10 and Oregon built a 36-24 lead by halftime. Bilodeau hit a jumper to give Oregon State a 17-15 lead with 11:26 remaining. Shelstad had a jumper and a 3-pointer in an 11-0 run and the Ducks cruised into intermission. The Beavers shot just 34.5% in the first 20 minutes and missed 9 of 10 from 3-point range.
Oregon travels to play Stanford on Thursday. Oregon State travels to play California on Thursday.
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