CORVALLIS — Marcus Damas drilled an 18-foot shot with eight-tenths of a second left gave Towson a shocking 67-66 overtime win Saturday over Oregon State.
The Tigers (5-8), who got 20 points and a career-high 21 rebounds from Jerrelle Benimon, overcame a 19-point second-half deficit to force the five-minute extra period.
Ahmad Starks gave Oregon State (9-3) its first lead in overtime on a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, Damas took a pass a few feet inside the 3-point line on the left wing and nailed the shot, quieting the Gill Coliseum crowd that had celebrated Starks’ shot a short time earlier.
The Beavers, who suffered their first loss in seven home games this season, were unable to get off a potential game-winning shot. Oregon State’s Roberto Nelson was called for an offensive foul while going after a deep inbounds from teammate Joe Burton. Towson then inbounded the ball to run out the clock.
“You go to 19 like we did and you have an ability to make a team quit, and you don’t make the plays you need to make," Oregon State coach Craig Robinson said.
Damas finished with 16 points for Towson, and teammate Jerome Harrison had nine points and five rebounds.
Towson, which lost by 20 at home to Oregon State last season, grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in the second half after getting just two in the first half. The Tigers had a 46-44 rebounding advantage overall.
“That can’t happen, where they just muscle us with offensive rebounds," said Oregon State’s Eric Moreland. “You’re not going to win a game like that."
Moreland had 16 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and six blocks. Burton added 15 points and Nelson 14 points.
Towson, which had lost four in a row, trailed 44-25 after Burton made a layin with 16:06 left. But Towson answered with a big run. Benimon made it a two-point game with a layin, and Bilal Dixon’s layin with 1:14 left got the Tigers back to even for the first time since the opening seconds of the game.
The teams then traded two free throws apiece, by Devon Collier and Benimon. Oregon State had the final possession of regulation, with Starks missing a layin and Collier missing two close-in shots before time expired.
“I just think we took our foot off the pedal. I thought we were going in the right direction," Nelson said. “Everybody was jelling and we kind of took a step back and let them get their rhythm, and once they got their rhythm they just started playing."
Also on Saturday:
No. 1 Duke 90
Santa Clara 77
DURHAM, N.C. — Seth Curry scored 12 of his season-high 31 points during a late run that helped Duke pull away. Mason Plumlee added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Blue Devils (12-0).
No. 2 Michigan 88
Central Michigan 73
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Trey Burke had 22 points and 10 assists as Michigan finished its nonconference schedule with a victory. Glenn Robinson had 20 points, while Nik Stauskas finished with 19 for Michigan (13-0).
No. 4 Louisville 80
Kentucky 77
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Russ Smith scored 21 points and Chane Behanan had 20 and Louisville (12-1) ended a four-game losing streak to rival Kentucky (8-4).
No. 6 Kansas 89
American 57
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Travis Releford scored 19 points and Kansas (11-1) hit a scorching 13 of its first 18 3-point attempts.
No. 9 Syracuse 57
Alcorn State 36
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — C.J. Fair scored 13 points and Trevor Cooney added 12, all in the second half to key a late surge, for Syracuse (11-1) .
No. 10 Ohio State 87
Chicago State 44
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Deshaun Thomas scored 17 points and Ohio State (10-2) regained its shooting touch in its final tuneup before beginning Big Ten play.
No. 12 Illinois 81
Auburn 79
CHICAGO — Tracy Abrams scored a career-high 27 points for Illinois. The Illini (13-1) saw an 11-point lead shrink to one in the closing minutes before holding on for the win.
No. 14 Florida 78
Air Force 61
SUNRISE, Fla. — Erik Murphy scored 21 points and Kenny Boynton snapped a shooting slump with three in the second half when Florida (9-2) pulled away.
No. 16 Creighton 87
Evansville 70
OMAHA, Neb. — Doug McDermott scored 14 of his 29 points in a 6½-minute stretch of the second half when Creighton (12-1) pulled away from Evansville.
No. 18 Butler 68
Vanderbilt 49
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Rotnei Clarke hit six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points and Butler (10-2) shook off a sluggish start for its seventh straight victory.
North Carolina 79
No. 20 UNLV 73
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — P.J. Hairston scored 15 points in his first career start for North Carolina, and Dexter Strickland added a season-high 16 points for the Tar Heels (10-3).
No. 23 North Carolina State 84
Western Michigan 68
RALEIGH, N.C. — C.J. Leslie scored 19 points to lead North Carolina State, and Richard Howell added 18 points on eight of eight shooting for the Wolfpack (10-2), who won their sixth consecutive game.
No. 25 Kansas State 52
Missouri-Kansas City 44
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Rodney McGruder scored 17 points, Thomas Gipson had 13 points and six rebounds and Kansas State (10-2) struggled to a victory.
Arizona State 68
Coppin State 52
TEMPE, Ariz. — Freshman playmaker Jahii Carson had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead Arizona State in the final tuneup for the Sun Devils’ (11-2) before starting Pac-12 play.
Colorado 80
Hartford 52
BOULDER, Colo. — Josh Scott scored a career-best 21 points, Askia Booker had 19, and Colorado (10-2) led handily from start to finish. Andre Roberson added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Buffaloes.
Connecticut 61
Washington 53
HARTFORD, Conn. — Shabazz Napier scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help Connecticut (10-2) win in the final nonconference game of the year for both teams. Scott Suggs had 15 to lead Washington (8-5), which lost for the first time in five games.
Stanford 65
Lafayette 59
STANFORD, Calif. — Chasson Randle scored 16 points to go with four assists and Josh Huestis matched his career-high with 14 rebounds for the Cardinal (9-4).
Washington State 74
Idaho State 39
KENNEWICK, Wash. — Washington State used a 20-2 run late in the first half to blow open a close game, and Point guard Mike Ladd scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Cougars (9-4).
Harvard 67
California 62
BERKELEY, Calif. — Laurent Rivard scored 19 points, and Wesley Saunders added 18 to lead Harvard Allen Crabbe, the Pac-12’s leading scorer, scored a game-high 27 points for the Bears (8-4).
