The Streak Continues: Colorado Holds Off Oregon State, 60-52

Despite taking a one point advantage into the halftime break, Oregon State (4-23) was unable to get past a feisty Colorado (16-11) team in Corvallis on Thursday night, extending their losing streak to fourteen straight games. The Beavers now have just four contests left in the regular season to not only pick up their first conference win of the campaign, but also to potentially avoid finding their spot in history as one of the worst Oregon State basketball teams to ever hit the hardwood.

In the defeat, the Beavers were paced by the usual combination of guard Jaquori McLaughlin (16 points, 2 assists, 2 steals) and forward Drew Eubanks (14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks) but were hindered by a lackluster performance from guard Stephen Thompson Jr., who finished with just 5 points on 2-12 shooting from the field. Bruising big-man Gligorije Rakocevic was the only other Oregon State player to finish in double-figures, chipping in 10 points on the night. The Beavers managed to shoot just 38% (19-50) as a team from the field, in addition to tallying 18 turnovers. Oregon State’s bench also contributed just 7 points in 28 minutes of combined action.

For Colorado, the Buffs were lead by their usual suspects as well, as guard Derrick White (20 points) and forward Xavier Johnson (17 points) combined for 37 of the team’s overall 60 point display. Colorado has now won six of their last seven games, after getting out to an 0-7 start in the Pac-12, and is anxiously awaiting their showdown in Eugene with seventh-ranked Oregon, a team they upset early this season in Boulder.

Oregon State will return to the hardwood on Sunday night at home against Utah (17-9), in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPNU. The Utes are coming off a 79-61 loss to the aforementioned Ducks, in a game in which star forward Kyle Kuzma was unable to play with an ankle injury. With Kuzma potentially out for Sunday’s contest as well, Oregon State’s best chance to break their long, losing streak may come against Utah, as the rest of the Beavers’ slate is filled with daunting road trips to Stanford and California, and a home match-up against a top-ten ranked Oregon group.