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Hampered by another slow start, Oregon State began their road trip to the Evergreen State on the wrong foot, falling 62-52 to the Huskies on Thursday night in Seattle.
The Beavers again showed great heart and hustle in the closing moments of the game, using their full-court pressure to alter the scoreline for the morning papers and betters alike, but not much more. Overall though, Oregon State’s offense looked stagnant against Washington’s daunted zone defense, where key pieces like star forward Tres Tinkle (15 points, 2-12 FG, 11-11 FT) could never quite find their natural flow.
One player who enjoyed his night was center Kylor Kelley, who finished with 16 points on a 7-12 performance from the field, while also swatting away two shots. Tinkle and Kelley were the only two players for Oregon State to reach double-figures in scoring. Ethan Thompson chipped in 6 points and 6 assists, while the Beavers other two starters in Zach Reichle and Alfred Hollins combined for just 2 points on 1-6 shooting. The Beavers were helped by solid bench contributions from Gianni Hunt (6 points, 2-2 FG) and Sean Miller-Moore (4 points, 4 rebounds).
For Washington, Isaiah Stewart paced the team with 13 points (6-9 FG), 5 rebounds and 4 blocks. The Huskies had five of their seven players who saw action finish with double-digits in scoring, including RaeQuan Battle (11 points, 3 steals), Nahziah Carter (10 points, 7 rebounds), Jamal Bey (10 points, 3 assists) and reserve guard Marcus Tsohonis (12 points, 3 assists).
With the defeat, the Beavers now sit at 12-5 overall and 2-3 in league play. The Huskies hold the same Pac-12 mark, but move to 12-6 overall with the victory.
Game Notes: The Beavers out-rebounded the Huskies by a 36-24 margin...Both teams finished with 13 assists and 5 steals in the contest...Oregon State owned the advantage at the charity stripe, going 14-22 from the free-throw line, compared to Washington’s 5-7 performance...The Beavers shot an atrocious 2-12 (16.7%) from behind the three-point line.
Up Next: The Beavers will try to rebound from this defeat on Saturday, January 18th at 1:00 PM PT, when they travel to take on Washington State. The Cougars are coming off a surprise upset of #8 Oregon.