The Oregon State Beavers lately edged past the Arizona Wildcats by an 83-80 margin that stunned all the fans from both sides. The game was played at the Gill Coliseum and the Oregon State’s fans were excited to see their team decimate the No. 9 ranked Arizona at home.

This unexpected win was the result of the hard work and gaming acumen demonstrated by the Oregon State. But apart from the team effort, there was another chief architect who amped up his game during the clutch moments.

Who was the main player?

The Beavers guard Jordan Pope experienced one of the highest points of his career when he smoked an unbelievable buzzer-beating three-pointer at the last moment. Pope made a stunning shot from around 22 feet from the left wing that flew over the Wildcats guard KJ Lewis and just dropped inside the hoop before the buzzer. However, the night was special for Pope for another reason.

Pope delivered his career-high performance with 31 points beating his last best for this season of 29 against the Washington Huskies. He also demonstrated his selfless play by supporting the team with 5 assists. He proved his prowess and gave a glimpse of the fiery player he is. Not only was is he dominating the Oregon State’s average points tally with 17.7 points per game but also must have become the go to player for his team after this performance. 

Other than that, he had impeccable shooting skills throughout the match since he had a 9-for-15 field goals tally and a 5-for-8 three-pointer record. This is a testament to his impressive shooting skills and thankfully they paid off when his team needed them the most.

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He also has a towering 80% free throw percentage. As per US News, Pope admitted that “It feels great. I’ve put in a lot of work my whole life.” However, every alpha player is well supported by teammates who play the second fiddle and this time too the case was no different.

Who were the other players that helped the Oregon State’s cause?

While Pope raked in huge numbers, he was assisted by their forward Tyler Bilodeau who could have had his score as the team’s highest if Pope wouldn’t have been on a rampage.

Bilodeau besotted an exceptional 22 points along with grabbing 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He thus was an efficient from coast to coast and that team could fall back on him during defense. Another forward who played a vital role in Thursday’s win was Michael Rataj. He soused 12 points and nabbed 7 rebounds. 

Overall, the Beavers trailed by 8 points at the close of the first half. But made a comeback in the second one upsetting the Arizona. The first half read 36-44 in favor of the Arizona Wildcats whereas in the second the Beavers throttled an amazing 47 and restricted their opponents to only 36.

With this win, the Beavers have a 10-9 tally and would be keen to turn things around for them by decimating the Arizona State in their next contest. This might be the confidence booster that they needed. 

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