The Beavers closed up the 2009-2010 Exhibition Season with a 75-55 win over the Western Oregon Wolves. The Beavers had a great first half, but sloppy play and execution by the basket in the second half allowed the Wolves to creep back in it. The game was played on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Corvallis, in front of 2,045 people at Gill Coliseum.

Seth Tarver lead the Beavers with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.

Omari Johnson had 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal. Calvin Haynes had 15 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

Oregon State opened the game up on an 6-0 run before the Wolves could creep back within five at 10-5. But the Beavers would break the game open to make the score 31-13 with 4:10 left in the 1st Half. The Beavers would take a 38-18 lead into the locker rooms.

Everybody participated in the game for the Beavers, with Calvin Haynes and Josh Tarver leading the way with 28 minutes of game time.

For the Wolves, Blair Wheadon and Matt Schmidt lead the way minutes-wise, with 30 apiece. Schmidt also lead Western Oregon with 11 points, followed by Blair Wheadon with 10. The Wolves came into this game with a record of 0-1 after losing to Portland State 108-65 on Wednesday night.

For the Oregon State Freshman, Joe Burton and Angus Brandt lead the way with four points. Jared Cunningham followed them with three points on the day.

The other two freshman, Rhys Murphy and Roberto Nelson, are out because of an injury and an NCAA Clearinghouse issue.

Western Oregon did their best to even up the Points Off Turnovers category, with the Beavers outscoring the Wolves 22-19. However, the Beavers did outscore the Wolves 16-5 in the 2nd Chance Points category.

The win came just hours before the Football team defeated the California Golden Bears in Berkeley, by a final score of 31-14.

The 2nd Half went back and forth for a while, with Western Oregon getting within 11 points at one point. After that though the Beavers cruised to a 75-55 victory. With the result well in hand, David Sturner and Chris Richard both got into the game with about five minutes left.

The Beavers avoided what Syracuse couldn't, losing to Division 2 Le Moyne on Tuesday night. UCLA also had a scare earlier this week, only defeating Concordia (California) 62-61.

As far as the crowd goes, the Beaver Dam was loud at times, which I thought was great for an exhibition game. Hopefully the excitement will only grow as the season goes on.

Next up for the Beavers is their Regular Season opener against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Friday at 6:00 PM in Lubbock, Texas.

--Connor (ConnorOSU@gmail.com)

Seth Tarver lead the Beavers with 17 points. (Photo by OSU athletics)