, on the ropes for more than a half against last-place California, rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Bears 69-66 Saturday at Gill Coliseum. Trailing 66-65, Michael Rataj gave OSU the lead on a layup with 15 seconds left. A quick turnover allowed Rataj to add some insurance points with a dunk. “These guys were not going to go down,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. Oregon State’s Glenn Taylor Jr. scored a career-high 28 points, producing more than half his points at the free-throw line. The sophomore guard was 15 of 16 from the free-throw line. Taylor was 14 of 14 with a chance to tie the single-game school record of 15 of 15 when he missed the first of two free throws. OSU (11-20, 5-15) closed out the regular season by ending a four-game losing streak. Next up for the Beavers is the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. The 11th-seeded Beavers play No. 6 seed Washington State at 8:30 p. m. Wednesday in a first-round game. Can one win, even over the last-place Bears, provide a spark the Beavers need heading into the conference tournament? “I like us a lot,” Taylor said. “I feel we can make a big run. This is a big win. ” Oregon State, coming off a 3-28 campaign a year ago, can quadruple its win total with a first-round conference tournament victory. The rebuilt roster, which includes five freshmen and nine new players, showed some progress this season. Among the highs: ending a two-year road losing streak and beating USC and Colorado at home. There were some huge defeats, but the Beavers also had one-possession losses to Oregon and USC. “We knew this was going to be a rough year. Have we left some out there? For sure. But it is all about doing things the right way,” Tinkle said. “I’m proud of them. Yes, it hasn’t been pretty at times. … But they stay together, keep taking coaching, and they enjoy each other. I know this is just one win, but it’s a step in the right direction. ” Jordan Pope scored 17 points and Tyler Bilodeau 11 for the Beavers. Taylor, Pope and Bilodeau combined for 56 of OSU’s 69 points. But it was Rataj, who had six points, who scored two of the most important baskets for the Beavers. California took a 66-65 lead with 28 seconds left on a short jumper by Grant Newell. OSU, passing on taking a timeout, immediately worked the ball up the floor. Rataj took the ball at the top of the key, drove to the basket and easily scored to put the Beavers on top 67-66. Oregon State forced a turnover seven seconds later, which turned into a dunk off a fast break by Rataj. Joel Brown scored 22 points to lead California (3-28, 2-18), which heads to the conference tournament as the No. 12 seed. Oregon State’s Senior Day — Rodrigue Andela and Dzmitry Ryuny were honored before the game — didn’t start well. California jumped the Beavers, hitting eight of its first nine shots to take a 17-5 lead. It got worse before Oregon State started getting control. Back-to-back three-pointers by Brown and Newell gave the Bears a 32-16 lead with 3:44 left in the first half. “It was all Cal. They were focused and I think they knocked us back and caused a little cloudiness early,” Tinkle said. OSU whittled the deficit in half by halftime, trailing 36-28. The Beavers continued the comeback early in the second half, pulling even at 45-45 on a three-pointer by Pope with 13:34 remaining. It was a battle for the final 13 minutes. The teams traded the lead six times down the stretch in a game that became a parade to the free-throw line. Cal and OSU combined for 41 fouls and 54 free throws. Dexter Akanno scored his first points of the game when he hit a three with 4:27 left to give OSU a 61-60 lead. The Beavers managed to milk the lead for three minutes, when Lars Thiemann’s short jumper with 1:24 left tied the game at 64-64. OSU briefly had the lead at 65-64 on a Taylor free throw, setting the stage for a wild final 30 seconds. -- Nick Daschel | |.