
Rataj, Fallah Lead Beavers to Road Win
February 20, 2025 | Men's Basketball
MALIBU, Calif. – Michael Rataj scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Parsa Fallah added 24 points, to lead the Oregon State men's basketball team to an 84-78 win over Pepperdine on Thursday evening at the Firestone Fieldhouse.
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The Beavers (19-9, 9-6 WCC) improved to 7-0 all-time against the Waves and completed the season sweep that included an 83-63 win on January 23 at Gill Coliseum.
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Leading 38-37 at halftime, Oregon State came out on fire in the second half, outscoring the Waves 15-5 to take a 53-42 advantage. Pepperdine cut the deficit to 68-65 before Josiah Lake II drilled a 3-pointer and Liutauras Lelevicius made a jumper for a comfortable margin and key conference road win.
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The Beavers shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) in the second half and 50 percent (31-of-62) in the game.
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Fallah notched 20+ points for the fifth time this season, while Rataj posted his ninth double-double this season and 13th in his Oregon State career.
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Rataj (25) and Fallah (24) combined for 49 of the Beavers' 84 points.
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Lelevicius scored nine points off the bench and Isaiah Sy knocked down two triples and a pair of free throws to finish with eight points. It's the fifth-consecutive game Sy has made multiple 3-pointers. Damarco Minor had a team-best seven assists.
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Johan Munch entered the game 3-for-10 on the season in his 17 contests, but was aggressive in the first frame, knocking down 2-of-5 shots and a free throw to score a career-high five points.
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His previous career high was two points, in four different games, and his two boards equaled a career best.
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Oregon State fell behind 21-13 in the first half but battled back to take a 31-29 lead on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Sy with 4:01 on the clock. Fallah made two free throws in the final 2.7 seconds of the half to give the Beavers a 38-37 lead at the break.
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Fallah led OSU with 13 points in the first half, while Rataj added seven and Sy made both of his 3-point attempts for six points.
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With the win, Oregon State improved to 15-1 this season, and 7-0 in West Coast Conference play, when leading at halftime.
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Pepperdine (10-18, 4-11 WCC) was led by Boubacar Coulibaly's 20 points and 11 boards, while Moe Odum had 19 points and seven assists, and Stefan Todorovic added 10 points.
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The Beavers will conclude a two-game road trip when they face the San Diego Toreros (4-24, 1-14 WCC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Jenny Craig Pavilion in a game televised on ESPN+.
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OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
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The Beavers (19-9, 9-6 WCC) improved to 7-0 all-time against the Waves and completed the season sweep that included an 83-63 win on January 23 at Gill Coliseum.
Â
Leading 38-37 at halftime, Oregon State came out on fire in the second half, outscoring the Waves 15-5 to take a 53-42 advantage. Pepperdine cut the deficit to 68-65 before Josiah Lake II drilled a 3-pointer and Liutauras Lelevicius made a jumper for a comfortable margin and key conference road win.
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The Beavers shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) in the second half and 50 percent (31-of-62) in the game.
Â
Fallah notched 20+ points for the fifth time this season, while Rataj posted his ninth double-double this season and 13th in his Oregon State career.
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Rataj (25) and Fallah (24) combined for 49 of the Beavers' 84 points.
Â
Lelevicius scored nine points off the bench and Isaiah Sy knocked down two triples and a pair of free throws to finish with eight points. It's the fifth-consecutive game Sy has made multiple 3-pointers. Damarco Minor had a team-best seven assists.
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Johan Munch entered the game 3-for-10 on the season in his 17 contests, but was aggressive in the first frame, knocking down 2-of-5 shots and a free throw to score a career-high five points.
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His previous career high was two points, in four different games, and his two boards equaled a career best.
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Oregon State fell behind 21-13 in the first half but battled back to take a 31-29 lead on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Sy with 4:01 on the clock. Fallah made two free throws in the final 2.7 seconds of the half to give the Beavers a 38-37 lead at the break.
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Fallah led OSU with 13 points in the first half, while Rataj added seven and Sy made both of his 3-point attempts for six points.
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With the win, Oregon State improved to 15-1 this season, and 7-0 in West Coast Conference play, when leading at halftime.
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Pepperdine (10-18, 4-11 WCC) was led by Boubacar Coulibaly's 20 points and 11 boards, while Moe Odum had 19 points and seven assists, and Stefan Todorovic added 10 points.
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The Beavers will conclude a two-game road trip when they face the San Diego Toreros (4-24, 1-14 WCC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Jenny Craig Pavilion in a game televised on ESPN+.
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OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
Team Stats
OSU
PEP
FG%
.500
.448
3FG%
.313
.500
FT%
.739
.895
RB
40
27
TO
9
8
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Thursday, June 11
Wednesday, May 06
Friday, January 30
Thursday, November 13














