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CBI Quarterfinals: Haynes' shot with 6.1 seconds lefts gives Oregon State wild win over Vermont

Some games, in any sport, simply manage to defy description. On Monday night, the cozy Oregon town of Corvallis experienced a one-of-a-kind rollercoaster ride that ended happily for the home team and its fans.
 
In a contest that lacked stature but offered ample excitement and numerous plot twists, Oregon State held off Vermont in overtime, 71-70, before a happy crowd at Gill Coliseum. The win extends OSU's season and keeps the Beavers on home soil for Wednesday's CBI semifinal against Stanford.
 
Just how baffling was this contest? One can only start at the beginning before arriving at a cluttered and clamorous climax.
 
Oregon State, though still saddled with a 15-17 record after this win (the CBI doesn't require a winning record from its participants, a policy the NIT adopted this season), has grown by leaps and bounds compared to last season, a 2008 trail of tears in which coach Jay Johns oversaw a club that went just 6-25, and 0-19 in the Pac-10 (including a loss in the first round of the conference tournament). This year's club, coached by Craig Robinson, won seven conference games, and can finish with a winning record if it can beat Stanford and then sweep the CBI title series. That's how much progress the Beavers have made in 2009.

One of the core reasons for OSU's substantial improvement has been the team's commitment at the defensive end of the floor. A ballclub that averages a shade under 60 points a game has allowed just under 63 per contest, thereby staying competitive in a power conference. Oregon State wants to play games in the 50s or--as shown in the first round of the CBI event--the high 40s. (The Beavers topped Houston, 49-45, last week in Corvallis.) The lower the score, the more Robinson likes his chances.
 
Vermont didn't cooperate with the Beavers' plans, however. The Catamounts, given a bid to the CBI after prematurely exiting the America East Conference Tournament, nailed 51 percent of their shots and hit 41 percent of their 3-point attempts. By scoring 67 points in regulation, one would have thought that Vermont would have coasted to victory.
 
Not so fast.
 
The Beavers, who normally struggle to put the ball in the bucket, hit 52 percent of their shots and were similarly effective (8-of-19) from behind the arc. Oregon State had a layup and a short turnaround jumper at the very end of regulation, but when neither shot dropped, both teams felt lucky to be in overtime.
 
Then things started spinning sideways in the same building that witnessed the beginning of North Carolina State's wacky and nutty run to the 1983 NCAA championship.
 
After 40 minutes of attractive, offense-first basketball, the wheels came off for both offenses. Vermont couldn't hit the side of a barn, while Oregon State promptly coughed up 4 turnovers. Heading into the final 30 seconds of the extra period, two lonely free throws by OSU center Roeland Schaftenaar represented the only scoring of the five-minute stanza.
 
Just when offense had seemingly disappeared for the evening, however, it re-emerged with a flourish.

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Vermont's Mike Trimboli nailed an ice-veins triple from the corner to give the Catamounts a 70-69 lead with 19.2 seconds left. Oregon State found its season on the brink, and when guard Calvin Haynes left his feet to attempt a difficult one-hand leaner in traffic with roughly eight ticks left on the clock, few souls in the arena could have felt particularly confident about the home team's prospects. Vermont forward Marqus Blakely added to the nervousness of Beaver fans by providing good help defense on the play and forcing Haynes to put even more arc on his shot. It was reasonable to think of the word "prayer" when the ball finally left Haynes' hand.
 
But in a moment worthy of March Madness, the ball dropped straight and true through the cylinder and the nylon net below. Vermont couldn't score on its final, desperate possession, and the Beavers lived to play Stanford, a conference rival, for the fourth time in 2009.
 
One can't make sense of Oregon State's escape from the clutches of the Catamounts from Vermont. They don't call it March logic or March rationality; they call it March Madness for a reason.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer