Nate Bittle leads Oregon past Oregon State

Field Level Media|published: Fri 22nd November, 24:52 2024

Oregon forward Brandon Angel looks for room to move under coverage from Oregon State forward Michael Rataj as the Oregon State Beavers host the Oregon Ducks Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore.

Nate Bittle established career highs of 23 points and 14 rebounds and also blocked three shots to help Oregon rally to a 78-75 victory over bitter rival Oregon State on Thursday night in Corvallis, Ore.

Jackson Shelstad recorded 15 points and six assists as the Ducks (5-0) recovered from a 12-point deficit to prevail in the 365th all-time meeting between the teams.

Keeshawn Barthelemy had 10 points and three steals and Jadrian Tracey also scored 10 points as Oregon defeated the Beavers for the eighth consecutive time.

Michael Rataj had 20 points and 10 rebounds to pace Oregon State (4-1). Liutauras Lelevicius added 13 points and Parsa Fallah had 11 for the Beavers.

Oregon State had a chance to force overtime but Rataj's 3-point attempt caromed off the rim with one second remaining and Bittle grabbed the rebound to achieve his new high.

This was the first meeting since Oregon created major animosity between the two schools by joining the Big Ten. Oregon State is in the West Coast Conference this season but plans to re-emerge as part of a rebuilt Pac-12 beginning with the 2026-27 school year.

Oregon made 49.2 percent of its shots, including 9 of 22 from 3-point range.

The Beavers shot 40.3 percent from the field and made 8 of 20 from behind the arc.

Shelstad hit a driving hoop to give Oregon a 76-73 lead with 25.9 seconds remaining. Fallah made two free throws with 14.9 seconds left to bring the Beavers within one.

Tracey made two free throws to make it a three-point game with 14 seconds to play before the Beavers came up empty on their final trip.

Oregon State appeared in good shape when it led 61-49 after a 3-pointer by Damarco Minor with 11:49 left. But the Ducks erupted with a 20-5 run to take the lead.

Bittle's putback brought the Ducks within 63-59 with 9:05 left to play.

Minor drained another trey to give the Beavers a seven-point lead. Oregon ran off the 10 points and took a 69-66 edge on Shelstad's 3-pointer with 5:25 left in the contest.

The Ducks later trailed by one before Shelstad hit another trey to give Oregon a 74-72 lead with 2:43 remaining.

Rataj scored 15 points and Lelevicius added 13 to help the Beavers lead 47-37 at the break.

Barthelemy scored eight first-half points for the Ducks.

--Field Level Media