Washington State prevailed 61-57 over the Beavers Thursday night in overtime in a game the Beavers led for most of the first half and the first seventeen minutes of the second half.
With roughly thirteen minutes remaining in the game and a nine-point lead, the Beavers seemed to get complacent on offense. Instead of running the offense as they had earlier in the game, the Beavers settled for three-point attempts that wouldn't fall, ultimately allowing Washington State to climb back into the game.
"We should have won in regulation" Calvin Haynes said after the game. "Instead of shooting threes, we should have gone back to the basics, doing our regular backdoor cuts and getting layups. That led to the [end] result."
Despite the let-down towards the end of the game, the Beavers did a lot of things right. Oregon State only committed two first half turnovers and committed eight less turnovers than Washington State (15-7) on the game. The Beavers also had an 18-9 points off turnovers advantage. The Beavers finished the game leading Washington State on the offensive glass 10-5, but the Beavers held a sizeable 6-0 margin at halftime, when the Beavers led 33-30. The score was tied 50-50 at the end of regulation.
Coach Robinson had this to say after the game:
"The guys played hard, they did exactly what I asked them to do and we came up short. You look at the stats and they aren't that bad. Seven turnovers, and two or three of them were shot clock violations which I take the blame for because they are doing exactly what I am saying to do. You take that into consideration and we only had five turnovers. While [WSU] got five offensive rebounds they got a couple of key ones at the end. But we did a fantastic job on the boards and it's a shame we lost this game."
The Beavers fall to 6-9 overall and 1-4 in the Pac-10 with the loss. The Cougars move to 10-6 and 2-2 in the Pac-10. WSU will be playing at Mac Court against Oregon on Saturday, and the Beavers will be hosting Washington, who beat Oregon 84-67 Thursday night.
Sophomore Calvin Haynes led the Beavers in scoring with 19 points. Of the nine games he's played this season, he's scored in double digits in seven of them. Lathen Wallace scored 13 points and had a career-high 39 minutes in his first start of the season. Daniel Deane added seven points, Omari Johnson had six, and Roeland Schaftenaar finished with five.
In overtime, the Beavers quickly found themselves down five points after the first two minutes. However, the Beavers battled back, and Calvin Haynes had two free throws with 0:16 left in the game, down by two points. He missed the first and made the second, giving Washington State the ball with a one point lead. The Cougars made three free throws from that point on to win by their final margin of four points.
"The free throws? I blew it." Calvin said after the game. "I don't know what was going through my head during those last three possessions. I basically missed them, there is no excuse."
Regardless, the Beavers are playing much better than a year ago. They've got confidence that they can win games in the Pac-10, and they're getting more respect.
There isn't much time to regroup for the Beavers, who play Washington at Gill Coliseum on Saturday at 7:00pm.
--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)