CORVALLIS - Smiles and laughter ensnared a circle of Oregon State players who congregated at midcourt of Gill Coliseum.
On a Tuesday night when their coach chastised them for at times falling into a defensive fog, the Beavers managed four consecutive stops on one possession in the final 17.8 seconds to preserve a 70-69 win over Jacksonville State.
Their fifth consecutive victory -- a first for the program in three years -- came despite going scoreless in the final two minutes and 33 seconds after looking crisp offensively for much of the game, finishing with 17 assists on 24 field goals and shooting 52.