Beavers Look To Exorcise Blue Demons

DePaul (6-3) at Oregon St. (7-2) / Gill Coliseum / 7 PM PST / Pac-12 Channel / KEJO 1240 AM / KEX 1190 AM

Game Notes / Rosters

Oregon St. will look to exorcise the (Blue) Demons from last year's past tonight, when they host DePaul tonight.

DePaul downed Oregon St. 93-81 last Dec. 1 in Rosemont, one of the few bright spots of the season for the Blue Demons, who were headed for a 12-21 record, and a last place 3-15 campaign in the Big East.

Devon Collier had a big game, especially early on, as he had 22 of his game high 32 points in the first half. But the aggressive style of the Blue Demons and the way Big East officials call games (compared to the Pac-12), saw Oregon St. struggle on the defensive end especially, and both Collier and Roberto Nelson had their 3rd fouls less than 6 minutes into the second half. Nelson got his 4th foul of the game with still over 11 1/2 minutes left, and Angus Brandt picked up his third seconds later. The Beavers never recovered, going down by as many as 20 points before making the final outcome a little more respectable.

This year should see another competitive contest, as Oregon St.'s defense is day and night improved, and DePaul also appears trending upward, despite coming into the game on a 2 game losing skid, including a 78-72 loss against Illinois St. in their last outing last Sunday. The Blue Demons already have an 87-72 romp over Stanford at the end of last month.

The Blue Demons are led by 6'6" junior forward Myke Henry, who leads DePaul in scoring, with 17 ppg, and is second in rebounding, with 6.4 rpg, and 6'11" sophomore center Tommy Hamilton IV, who leads the Blue Demons on the boards, at 7.3 rpg, and is second in scoring, with 13.6 ppg. Hamilton had 14 points in last year's win over Oregon St.

Hamilton had a 13 point, 10 rebound double double in the loss to Illinois St., and Henry had 12 points, while 6'4" senior forward Jamee Crockett led DePaul, with 22 points. Another key cog for the Blue Demons is 6'6" sophomore guard Billy Garrett Jr, who averages 12.8 points and 3.6 assists per game. Garrett had a 15 point, 10 assist double double last year against Oregon St.

Speaking of multiple doubles, Oregon St.'s junior guard Gary Payton II put up only the second recorded triple double in Oregon St. history Monday night, with 12 rebounds, 10 points, and 10 assists, in the Beavers' 71-43 blowout win over Grambling. Payton II joined Payton I, his father Gary Payton, who posted the only other triple double by a Beaver 26 years ago.

It wasn't all Payton though, as Victor Robbins had a game and career high 22 points off the Oregon St. bench, and Malcolm Duvivier was also in double digits, with 16 points.

Tonight is also Teddy Bear toss night at Gill. Fans are encouraged to bring new or lightly used bears and other stuffed animals to donate to area children in need for Christmas, and prepare to toss them onto the court at halftime. (Modeled after the more familiar teddy bear tosses the Portland Winter Hawks have conducted at their hockey games on an annual basis for years.)

Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com