Final Score: Oregon State 81, CB Santfeliuenc 63
In front of approximately 25 people, Oregon State continued its four game swing through Europe today with a 81-63 win over CB Santfeliuenc.
You begin to get the feel after four days in Europe that basketball over there is pretty chill. Not only do they regularly switch game times (Tuesday's tip was changed from 10:00 AM PT to 11:30 AM, today's changed from 10:00 AM to 12:15 PM), but apparently, teams as well. Oregon State's original itinerary called for a meeting with Manresa today, but due to too many injuries, they backed out (sources inside the Oregon State athletic department say Mike Riley had the exact same plan last year) and were replaced by a team that I've already typed out twice and don't want to try and spell again. According to the official Oregon State Men's Basketball Twitter account, their final opponent has been changed as well they will face Alcobendas in their third game of the trip and play Real Canoe, originally scheduled as that third contest, in the fourth and final game.
So, the Beavers were forced to throw out their scouting report on Manresa (this is assuming these guys actually scout Spanish pro teams, which could be a major leap) and play old-fashioned, "show up at the gym and ball" type of basketball. And ball they did. With a starting lineup consisting of Eric Moreland, Jarmal Reid, Daniel Gomis, Challe Barton, and Victor Robbins, Oregon State led 22-14 after the first quarter and 43-31 at Halftime.
The Beavs extended that lead to as many 20 points nearly halfway through the third before CBS went on a 14-1 binge to cut the deficit to seven. The Beavers cruised from there, however, responding with a 12-2 run and re-emptying the bench that was technically emptied when the starting lineups were announced.
"I like the way we battled," head coach Craig Robinson said. "This was a game that we had some real adversity. It was a true away game with away calls, away rims, away court and our guys just hung in there and hung in there and eventually pulled away, which is exactly what they needed to do."
Roberto Nelson came off the bench to lead the team with 17 points, and he was followed by Moreland with 16. Easy-E had a tremendous outing, making all eight shots he took from the field, not to mention pulling down eight rebounds. His defense was nearly as good, recording three blocks and three steals.
Victor Robbins once again led the newcomers with seven points. Daniel Gomis only took one shot, which he missed, but had seven boards to make it a good day. One thing that is evident early on is that the Beavers should be much improved on the glass. Moreland looks even better than he was at the end of last year, and Gomis has good springs as well.
Coach Robinson received his first technical in a while halfway through the second quarter.
"I yelled "walk" and the guy gave me a technical, because their guy took like eight steps," Robinson said. "He didn't have to give me a technical, but we are in an away gym. I haven't gotten a technical in a long time. I was actually kind of surprised. But hey, I didn't want to create an international incident so we just calmed down and took it out on them underneath the rim."
With the win, the Beavers improved to 2-0 in fake games. Next up is a meeting with Real Canoe Alkobendas on Sunday, slated for an 11:00 AM Pacifc tip, a time that will surely change between now and 11:00 AM on Sunday.
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