Oregon State
Cal State Fullerton (NIT Tournament)
Beavers Fall To Cal State Fullerton In Overtime NIT Battle, 85-83
March 16, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 17, 2005
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) - Ralphy Holmes hit a jump shot at the buzzer and Cal State Fullerton held off Oregon State 85-83 in overtime Wednesday night to advance in the NIT for the first time.
Holmes and Bobby Brown each had 27 points to lead the Titans, who are making their third NIT appearance. Fullerton will play San Francisco (17-13) in a first-round game. The Dons beat Denver 69-67 Wednesday night.
The Titans' leading scorer and rebounder, Holmes was mobbed by his teammates after hitting the game-winning shot.
Holmes also had 13 rebounds.
Fullerton (20-10), with its first winning season since 1992-93, squandered an 18-point lead they built at the start of the second half.
Oregon State (17-15) trailed by 18 points early in the second half, and 70-59 with a little more than 5 minutes left. Sparked by J.S. Nash's 3-pointer, the Beavers went on a 15-4 run to make it 74-74. Nick DeWitz's long jumper for Oregon State bounced off the rim as time ran out, sending the game into overtime.
In his final game, David Lucas had 26 points and became OSU's 31st player ever to score 1,000 career points. DeWitz added 18 points and 13 rebounds (his first career double-double) to lead Oregon State, which fell behind 51-35 at the half.
Fullerton tied for third place in the Big West Conference at 12-6. The Titans lost 84-77 to Utah State in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
It was Fullerton's third Pac-10 opponent in the NIT. The Titans lost to Byron Scott and Arizona State in Tempe in 1983 and to Kevin Johnson and California in Berkeley in 1987.
It was Oregon State's first postseason appearance since 1990. The Beavers have not been to the NIT since 1987.
The Titans and the Beavers had met just once before, with Oregon State winning 68-35 at Gill Coliseum in 2000.
From Associated Press and staff reports.
