VCU, Oregon State basketball, Gary Payton
Oregon State basketball embraces historic season after falling to VCU in NCAA Tournament
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OKLAHOMA CITY — At the end of a historic season that had been propelled by two improbable buzzer-beaters, Gary Payton II never believed his Oregon State career was over until Virginia Commonwealth dribbled out its final possession
In that moment, he stared blankly out into the stands and untucked his college jersey one last time. The senior guard and back-to-back Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year heard the final buzzer signify a 75-67 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and walked through the customary postgame handshake line
As the last OSU player to leave the court, his glance shifted to his left and the crowd of orange in the stands that had trekked to see the team's first March Madness appearance since 1990 — back when his father was a senior
Payton, who finished with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals in his final college outing, clapped for that group and acknowledged them for "supporting us through all this time, thick and thin
Few times were thinner than the first time Payton put on his game uniform 15 months earlier. The result was a 57-47 exhibition defeat to Division II Western Oregon at Gill Coliseum, a game that Payton admitted during the final weeks of his senior season led him to think he was in for a long season
That team, filled out with walk-ons, righted the ship and set the stage for a consequential follow-up act this season
"None of our guys quit or accepted the fact that we might not win that many games," he said. "They just kept working, kept fighting
The same fight was needed Friday at Chesapeake Energy Arena after a poor offensive stretch against an aggressive man-to-man defense threatened to bury Oregon State 19-13
The Beavers went scoreless for more than four minutes while missing six consecutive shots, allowing VCU to go on a 9-0 run and take a 26-20 lead with 3:47 left in the half. After the next media timeout, the Rams were able to extend the lead to 36-28 at halftime as their guards attacked the paint at will
"I think we were making an overly conscious effort to get out and take away the three-point line," said Stephen Thompson Jr., who finished with six points on 2-of-11 shooting. "They were just blowing right by us and being able to drop off or finish at the rim
If limiting their opponents' shooting was a pregame key, Oregon State succeeded. VCU went 4 of 20 from three-point range to mark their third-worst long-range performance of the year. The Beavers also had a season-low six turnovers against a team with the sixth-most steals in the nation
But the Rams owned the paint Friday afternoon, earning a 40-28 rebounding advantage and a 46-37 edge on points in the paint
That effort was led by Mo Alie-Cox, a 6-foot-7, 250-pound senior who romped to 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 6-for-6 from the free throw line, and added eight rebounds. Alie-Cox was on the bench with three fouls for an Oregon State 10-0 run that changed the dynamic of what once appeared to be a comfortable VCU win
Freshman point guard Derrick Bruce, coming off a career-high 25-point performance in the Pac-12 tournament, connected on back-to-back three-pointers for six of his 15 points and found Payton for a layup the next time down for one of his team-high five assists
After another defensive stop, freshman forward Drew Eubanks fired a baseball pass to Payton who finished with a lefty jam in transition to give OSU a 51-49 lead — its first of the second half
"It felt like we were going to get the win," Bruce said
Alie-Cox re-entered seconds later and helped spark a 16-5 counter-run highlighted by timely shooting. Melvin Johnson and JeQuan Lewis, who finished with 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, combined to make three of the team's four three-pointers of the game during that stretch and push the VCU lead to 65-56
