Beaver Rally Comes up Short
January 16, 1999
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - Chris Crosby scored a game-high 22 points and hit two key free throws as Washington State overcame a late Oregon State surge to win 84-79 on Saturday.
The Cougars (8-8 overall, 2-3 Pacific-10) snapped a three-game losing streak despite allowing the Beavers (8-7, 2-4) to whittle a mid-second half lead of 10 points to one point with 2:33 to go.
Washington State recovered on Jan-Michael Thomas' 3-point basket with 2:10 remaining.
The teams traded baskets before Oregon State's Adam Masten hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to leave the score 82-79.
Crosby then hit a pair of free throws with 9 seconds remaining, and Deaundra Tanner missed two shots on Oregon State's final possession.
Crosby, who had entered the game shooting 1-for-20 from 3-point range in Pac-10 play, went 4-for-6 Saturday.
The Cougars also got a career-high 20 points from Eddie Miller, who shot 10-for-13 from the line.
Thomas added 16 points on 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range. Clifton Jones, who entered the game averaging 3.5 points per contest, led Oregon State with 20 points on 8-for-11 field-goal shooting.
Tanner added 15 points but shot just 4-of-16. Josh Steinthal finished with 13 but also shot 4-for-16.
Washington State led the entire game and held a 35-33 lead at the half.
The Cougars took their biggest lead of the game, 55-45, after Thomas, Blake Pengelly and Crosby hit 3-point shots on consecutive possessions midway through the second half.
Washington State finished 11-for-20 from 3-point range to Oregon State's 4-for-15.
The Cougars out-rebounded a Pac-10 opponent for the first time, holding a 35-31 advantage over Oregon State.
Washington State also held a 25-19 scoring advantage at the free-throw line and shot 78 percent for the game.
