Beavers bound for Elite Eight with win over Loyola

» Ethan Thompson scored 20 points, including a pair of clinching foul shots with 35 seconds left, and 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 Pac12 but ran roughshod through the conference tournament and have kept on winning on college basketball’s biggest stage.

They’re headed for their first Elite Eight since 1982 — one that was later vacated by the NCAA — and will play second-seeded Houston or No. 10 seed Syracuse on Monday night for a spot in the Beavers’ first Final Four since 1963.

Not even the fervent prayers of Sister Jean could help Loyola (26-4) deal with the constantly changing defenses that Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle rolled out. The Ramblers, who played with such poise and perfection in toppling top-seeded Illinois, wound up shooting 33% from the field and 5 of 23 from beyond the arc.

All-America forward Cameron Krutwig led Loyola with 14 points. Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris added 10 apiece, though both of them missed 3-pointers in the closing minutes as Loyola tried to mount a comeback.

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 still a schoolgirl.

For most of Saturday, it looked as if 31 points would be plenty.

Oregon State turned it over twice before getting off a shot, went nearly 6 ½ 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, proceeded to miss 11 consecutive shots as Oregon State flip-flopped between man-to-man and zone defenses.

The Beavers wound up shutting out Loyola the last 5:48 to take a 24-16 halftime lead, the lowest-scoring first half of the entire tournament. Krutwig was 3 of 5 from the field; the rest of the Ramblers were 1 of 18.

You’d have sworn the Beavers sported the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense, not the other way around.

Oregon State built on Warith Alatishe’s buzzer-beating bucket to end the first half by finally getting some shots to go in the second. Thompson did most of the damage, hitting an early jumper, beating the shot clock with another fadeaway jumper, then catching a Hail Mary heave to beat a full-court press and give the Beavers a 37-24 lead with 12 minutes to go.