Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Oregon State’s Ethan Thompson celebrates after beating Loyola Chicago to reach the Elite Eight.
Not even prayers by Sister Jean can slow Beavers’ run
INDIANAPOLIS — Ethan Thompson scored 20 points, including two clinching free throws with 35 seconds left, as No. 12 seed Oregon State kept its dream March going with a 65-58 victory over eighth-seeded Loyola-Chicago
in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Warith Alatishe added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Beavers (20-12), who were picked to finish last in the Pac-12 but ran roughshod through the conference tournament at T-Mobile Arena and have kept winning on college basketball’s biggest stage.
They’re headed for their first Elite Eight since 1982 — one that the NCAA later vacated — and will play for a spot in their first Final Four since 1963.
Not even the fervent prayers of Sister Jean could help the Ramblers (26-4) deal with the constantly changing defenses that Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle rolled out. Loyola shot 33 percent while missing 18 of 23 3-point tries.
All-America forward Cameron Krutwig led the Ramblers with 14 points.
Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris added 10 apiece, though both missed 3-pointers in the closing minutes.
It was the first meeting between the teams since Dec. 31, 1927, when Loyola won 31-19 in Chicago — and Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Ramblers’ beloved 101-year-old chaplain, was a schoolgirl.
For most of Saturday, it looked as if 31 points would be plenty to win.
Oregon State turned it over twice before getting off a shot, went nearly 6½ minutes before making its first field goal and at one point was 1 of 8 with four turnovers. Then the Ramblers, who failed to take advantage of their defense, missed 11 consecutive shots the Beavers flip-flopped between man-to-man and zone defenses.
Oregon State wound up shutting out Loyola the last 5:48 of the first half to take a 24-16 intermission lead, the lowest-scoring first half of the tournament. Krutwig was 3 of 5 from the field; the rest of the Ramblers were 1 of 18.
■ Houston 62, Syracuse
46: Quentin Grimes scored 14 points for the second-seeded Cougars (27-3), who held the 11th-seeded Orange (18-10) to 28-percent shooting — including a 5-for23 showing on 3-pointers.
Syracuse junior Buddy Boeheim, who had averaged 28.3 points while shooting 60 percent through the postseason, scored 12 on 3-for13 shooting. He missed 8 of 9 3-point tries and mustered one first-half field goal.
DeJon Jarreau had nine points, eight assists and eight rebounds while leading Houston’s defensive effort against Boeheim, Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim’s son.
Justin Gorham had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars, who advanced to a regional final for the first time since reaching a second straight NCAA championship game in 1984 with Hakeem Olajuwon and coach Guy Lewis during the famed “Phi Slama Jama” era.
SOUTH REGION
■ Baylor 62, Villanova
51: Adam Flagler scored 16 points for the top-seeded Bears (25-2), who overcame uncharacteristic struggles with outside shooting to get past the fifth-seeded Wildcats (18-7) and their 2-3 defense.
Baylor, which entered as the nation’s top 3-point shooting team at 41.5 percent, missed 16 of 19 tries from behind the arc. The game changed midway through the second half, when the Bears took a sixpoint lead with a 14-2 run in which all points came from inside the arc.
Jermaine Samuels scored 16 points for Villanova, which shot 37.5 percent in the second half while missing all nine 3-point tries.