Senior Ethan Wright scored a career-high 24 points and sank two clutch free throws with six seconds left as Princeton upended Oregon State, 81-80 on Sunday in a nonconference game in Corvallis, Ore.
Drew Friberg scored 17 points and Jaelin Llewellyn and Tosan Evbuomwan each had 14 for Princeton (4-1), which also has beaten South Carolina this season and lost to Minnesota in double overtime.
Dashawn Davis’s basket for Oregon State cut the deficit to 78-77 with 21 seconds left, but he later missed a shot that could have tied the score. Wright then made his foul shots for an 81-77 lead. Jarod Lucas made a three-pointer with one second left for the hosts.
Davis had 16 points and five assists for Oregon State (1-4), which also lost to visiting Samford on Thursday.
Warith Alatishe’s jumper in the paint cut the Beavers’ deficit to 72-70 with 2:58 to go, capping a 6-0 run in a span of 1:33. But Wright answered for Princeton with a three-pointer to extend the lead to five.
After Glenn Taylor Jr. made two foul shots with 7:57 left to cut Princeton’s lead to 61-57, the Tigers went on a 9-2 run for a 70-59 lead. Llewellyn began and ended the run with three-pointers.
Lucas’ jumper with 11:21 left in the first half capped an 8-0 run and gave the Beavers a 15-8 lead. But Princeton fought back behind Ryan Langborg (five) and Llewellyn, who totaled nine points during a 12-3 run that turned a 19-14 deficit into a 26-22 Princeton advantage.
Ahead 41-39 at halftime, Princeton quickly increased its lead to 49-42 early in the second half on a driving layup by Evbuomwan 2:49 into the period.
Oregon State sliced its deficit to 53-50 on a basket by Isaiah Johnson, but consecutive threes by Wright, the latter on a fast-break following a missed Oregon State trey, increased the Tigers’ lead to 59-50.
–Field Level Media
