Oregon State Fought Hard, Yet Fell Short

For the first 30-plus minutes, Oregon State played the No. 2 ranked UCLA Bruins (14-1 overall, 1-1 Pac-12) tight at Gill Coliseum. The noise level at Gill was increasingly louder as the Beavers were making life difficult for the Bruins. After Stevie Thompson’s layup with 10:29 left in the game cut UCLA’s lead to 47-45, the orange clad crowd at Gill raised the volume at the old barn. There was a familiar feeling that a possible upset was about to happen. The magic of Gill still exists; a special place that has witnessed numerous ranked opponents fall to the Orange Express.

Four minutes later, the same crowd stood silent as they looked at the scoreboard displaying a 64-50 UCLA lead with 6:12 left in the game. UCLA controlled the rest of the game as they escaped Corvallis with a 76-63 victory. Freshmen super-studs Lonzo Ball (23 pts. 7 assists) and TJ Leaf’s double-double (21 pts. 10 rebounds) dominated the Beavers in the last 10 minutes. In addition, Sophomore Guard Aaron Holiday contributed to UCLA’s victory with 14 pts. and 6 assists.

Stevie Thompson led all Oregon State scorers with 25 pts. (including 3-4 from 3 point land). Fellow Sophomore Drew Eubanks had a solid game with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Freshman Guard JaQuori McLaughlin had 12 pts. After the Beavers trailed the Bruins by 11 points in the first half, the Beavers fought back to tie the game at 38 with 16:25 left in the game thanks to a Stephen Thompson Jr. three pointer. The Beavers were able to keep it close until they found themselves down 14 points with 6:12 left in the game.

The Beavers fall to 0-2 in Pac-12 play and 4-11 overall. Oregon State travels north to the state of Washington as they play the Washington State Cougars (7-5 Overall, 0-0 Pac-12) in Spokane on Wednesday at 8pm (Pac-12 Networks). On the following Saturday, the Beavers travel across the state to Seattle as they take on the Washington Huskies (7-5 Overall, 0-0 Pac-12) at 12pm on (Pac-12 Networks).