The Mountaineers traveled out west for a late-night showdown with Oregon State, losing 81-71 in an overtime thriller.

Graduate student forward Donovan Gregory collected his own missed shot for a putback as time expired sending the game to extra action. In the overtime period, the Beavers capitalized off four Mountaineer turnovers, leading to easy baskets in transition. 

Oregon State guard Jordan Pope torched App State for a career high 25 points on 69% shooting along with seven rebounds and five assists.

Junior guard Terence Harcum led the team with 18 points and four rebounds. Gregory finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Sophomore forward Justin Abson added in 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks while junior forward Chris Mantis had 12 points.

The Beavers controlled much of the first half, going into the break up 43-32. The Mountaineers struggled to put the ball in the basket, shooting just 36% from the field and 27% from downtown. On the other side, Oregon State shot 10/17 from three-point range and 52% from the field. Pope entered halftime with 17 points on perfect shooting from the field, three-point range and free throws. 

In the second half, the scripts had been reversed as the Mountaineers began consistently scoring. They outscored the Beavers 31-20 in the half, and limited Oregon State to 26% shooting from the field and just one three point make. 

After trailing most of the game, the Mountaineers took a 50-49 lead off a Gregory layup with 9:04 left in the half. The two teams battled back and forth for the rest of the half as the Beavers went up by as much as seven in the final minutes.

The Black and Gold trailed 60-54 with just under four minutes remaining. They closed out the half on a 9-3 run, with a Mantis three pointer tying the game at 61. Oregon State’s KC Ibekwe hit a layup with 1:10 remaining. Neither team scored again until App State’s final possession. Gregory drove down to the paint, backed his defender down and put up a floater that came up short. The Charlotte native followed his shot and put it back up as it bounced around the rim and into the basket as the final buzzers went off.

In overtime, the Beavers began to separate themselves from the Mountaineers, as they went on a 7-0 run to start the period. App State couldn’t play catch up as Oregon State caught fire and closed out the game 81-71.

Free throw struggles once again plagued the Mountaineers as they shot 58% from the line. Between the second half and overtime, the Black and Gold coughed up 11 of their 13 total turnovers. While the Beavers scored only six points off turnovers, giving possessions back to the other team makes it difficult to win on the road.

The Mountaineers return to action Nov. 21-22 for the Fort Myers Tip-Off Event in Fort Myers, Florida. Over the two-day stretch, they will matchup against UNC-Wilmington and Murray State respectively. Both games are slated to start at noon.