CORVALLIS - During the first year of his college career, Stephen Thompson Jr. was front and center for two of the most memorable moments in recent Oregon State men's basketball history.
The guard was not even a starter when he twice scored the game-winning points with less than a second on the clock, finalizing key wins in the Beavers' path to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 26 years.
On Sunday night, facing the tipping point of a year that threatened history on the opposing end of the spectrum, it was Thompson again who saved OSU. Coming off one of his worst games of the season, he had 11 of his career-high 31 points in the final 2 minutes, 34 seconds of a 68-67 win over Utah.