Cal State Fullerton 85, Oregon State 83, OT

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) Cal State Fullerton coach Bob Burton borrowed an old North Carolina play to get the Titans their first NIT victory.

Ralphy Holmes hit a jumper at the buzzer and Cal State Fullerton held off Oregon State 85-83 in overtime Wednesday night.

Burton calls the move that produced the winning points the taco play, for no other reason than he loves tacos.

"All it was, was curling Holmes off a screen and letting him go," Burton said.

Holmes and Bobby Brown each had 27 points to lead the Titans, who are making their third NIT appearance. Fullerton will play San Francisco (17-13) in a first-round game. The Dons beat Denver 69-67 Wednesday night.

The Titans' leading scorer and rebounder, Holmes was mobbed by his teammates after hitting the game-winning shot over the outstretched arms of Lamar Hurd. Oregon State's Chris Stephens, who had also tried to stop Holmes, crumbled to the court in grief.

Holmes also had 13 rebounds.

While the overwhelmingly pro-Beaver crowd at Gill Coliseum seemed to collectively hold its breath as Holmes' game winner dropped through the basket, Holmes himself knew it was good.

"Great defense but that's one of my patented moves," he said. "I make it all the time in practice. It might have looked like luck to you but not to my teammates."

Fullerton (20-10) , with its first winning season since 1992-93, squandered an 18-point lead they built at the start of the second half.

Oregon State (17-15) trailed by 70-59 with a little more than 5 minutes left. Sparked by J.S. Nash's 3-pointer, the Beavers went on a 15-4 run to make it 74-74. Nick DeWitz's long jumper for Oregon State bounced off the rim as time ran out, sending the game into overtime.

David Lucas had 26 points and DeWitz added 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead Oregon State, which fell behind 51-35 at the half.

"It hurt," Lucas said. "We played so hard, we came back in the second half. And then that shot. It hurt."