CORVALLIS, Ore. — Roberto Nelson scored six of his 15 points in overtime, including the go-ahead free throw with 2:50 remaining, to pace Oregon State to a 78-76 victory over Arizona State on Saturday.
Jermaine Marshall’s 3-pointer with 19.5 seconds to play in regulation time capped Arizona State’s comeback from a 14-point deficit in the second half and forced overtime with the score tied at 67.
The Beavers (16-14, 8-10 Pac-12) earned a split of the two-game season series with ASU and snapped a four-game losing streak against the Sun Devils (21-10, 10-8) that had stretched over four seasons.
Eric Moreland added 16 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for Oregon State.
Jahii Carson led ASU with 24 points and Jonathan Gilling added 20 for the Sun Devils, who shot 41 percent (25 of 61) to Oregon State’s 47.5 percent (28 of 59) and missed an opportunity to lock up the No. 3 seed for next week’s conference tournament in Las Vegas.
Nelson, who came into the game averaging 20.8 points a game, made 6 of 16 shots from the field and all but locked up the Pac-12 scoring title, making him the fifth Oregon State player to lead the conference in scoring and the first since Gary Payton in 1990.
Arizona State led 71-69 in overtime when Nelson followed up his own miss and scored to tie the game with 3:41 to play. Nelson made 1 of 2 free throws to put the Beavers on top for good, 72-71, and then added a 3-pointer that made the score 76-72 with 21.6 seconds left.
Hallice Cooke’s two free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining extended the lead to 78-73 and helped put the game out of reach.
The Beavers disrupted Arizona State’s offense throughout the first half by consistently pressuring the ball with two defenders and sometimes three. The Sun Devils struggled to break the pressure, and when they did find the open man, they struggled to make open shots.
ASU came up empty on six of seven possessions to open the game, going 0 for 6 from the field with two turnovers as the Beavers raced to a 9-1 lead.
After three lead changes, Moreland hit a free-throw line jumper to touch off a 14-7 run over the final 6:30 of the first half that gave the Beavers a 33-28 lead at the break.
Malcolm Duvivier had 11 first-half points off the bench for the Beavers, who shot 45.5 percent (10 of 22) in the half to ASU’s 36 percent (9 of 25). OSU also had a 33-28 advantage in rebounds and a 10-2 edge in second-chance points.
Nelson, the only Pac-12 player to average more than 20 points a game, also became the first OSU player to lead the Beavers in scoring, assists, steals, 3-point field goals, and minutes since Deaundra Tanner in 2000.
