Oregon State MBB: Beavers Fall to Nebraska 78-66 in Diamond Head Classic Final
Oregon State's 6 game win streak came to an end on Christmas, with Oregon State falling to the Nebraska Cornhuskers 78-66 in the championship match of the 2024 Diamond Head Classic. The loss, which closes out Oregon State's non conference scheule, drops the Beavers to 10-3 on the season.
The Cornhuskers grabbed the lead right from the jump, with Brice Williams hitting a three for the first points of the game. Oregon State kept things close, and 5 minutes into the game a Damarco Minor three gave the Beavers their first lead of the night.
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Minor kept the Beavers in the game for much of the first half. Nebraska's defense was effective in limiting Michael Rataj, usually the Beavers primary offensive threat, but Minor was able to make up that deficit, with 8 poitns in the first half.
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Toward the end of the half, the Huskers began to take control of the game, with a pair of threes from Berke Buyuktuncel giving Nebraska a 6 point lead. Nate Kingz and Parsa Fallah combined for 6 points to tie things up, but Buyuktuncel put Nebraska up 2 with a late layup, giving the Huskers a 34-32 lead at the half.
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Nate Kingz put the Beavers in front 23 seconds into the second half with a three, and then added another two on a fast break after a Husker turnover. Kingz hit another three just a minute later, for 8 total points in less than two minutes, an incredibly explosive start.
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The rest of the Beavers struggled to match that performance. Nebraska kept things close, and at the 1o minute mark a Berke Buyuktuncel layup gave Nebraska the lead they would hold onto for the rest of the night. The Beavers did not go quietly; Nate Kingz continued to make big plays and Damarco Minor looked extremely dangerous on the fast break, but the Beavers couldn't shut down Nebraska. Anything OSU could come up with was answered by the Huskers, who took the win 78-66.
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Despite the loss Nate Kingz delivered for the Beavers, with 19 points, 3 reboudns and 2 assists. Damarco Minor also made sure the Beavers were never out of the game, with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Beavers will start their West Coast Conference schedule in just five days, with the Portland Pilots coming to Corvallis on Monday, December 30th. Tip off is set for 6:30 PM.
Having grown up in Pocatello, home of the Idaho State Bengals, John Severs is a lifelong fan of small schools that don't always deliver a lot of wins. Prior to writing for Sports Illustrated, John covered the Beavers for SB Nation's Oregon State blog Building the Dam, with a focus on baseball and women's basketball. When he's not watching college sports he spends most of his time reading, playing video games and annoying cats.