Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Oregon State men’s basketball team is one win away from a postseason championship.

The Beavers beat the Texas-El Paso Miners, 75-69, in Corvallis Monday in the first game of the College Basketball Invitational finals.

Ethan Lindsey reports.

The Beavers led all contest, and yet the team allowed Texas-El Paso back into the game at the end.

But with less than a minute remaining, OSU's Roland Schaftenaar drained two free throws to put the Beavers up by three possessions.

The College Basketball Invitational is not the most glamorous of postseason events – in fact, the two-year-old tournament is considered third-tier.

But for a team that went 6-and-25 last season, this was big.

Craig Robinson is the head coach of the Beavers.

Craig Robinson: “What you are seeing is that each game, we still have guys getting better.”

The CBI is unusual in basketball, in that the championship is a three-game series.

Oregon State must win one of the final two games, to win the tournament.