CORVALLIS -- No. 2 seed Oregon State survived a first-round NCAA Tournament scare, topping 15th-seeded Long Beach State 56-55 Friday afternoon at Gill Coliseum.
OSU was on upset alert for the entire contest. The 49ers took a 55-54 with 2:40 to play on a three-pointer by Jessica Gertz, before a pair of Sydney Wiese free throws put the Beavers back ahead by one with 1:07 to play. But OSU still needed to make one final defensive stand, as Raven Benton missed a jumper before a last-second heave by Anna Kim bounced off the backboard.
Long Beach State, which led 30-29 at the half and never trailed by more than six points, consistently subbed in order to play aggressive defensively all game.