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Oregon State did not get the start to their Pac-12 schedule that they were hoping for. After a close opening to the game, poor shooting doomed Oregon State in an 81-69 loss to the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City. Both teams now stand at 10-3, with Oregon State 0-1 in the conference, and Utah 1-0.
The Beavers took the lead early, with a barrage of scoring from Tres Tinkle and Ethan Thompson opening the first. The Beavers got up by as much as 6, but Utah went on a 12 point run to take a 27-19 lead around the 10 minute mark. Oregon State finally found their shot, but shooting remained poor for the remainder of the half, hovering around 35%. Three point shooting was especially atrocious, with the Beavers making only 1 out of their 11 attempts. Utah ended the first half up 39-32.
Oregon State managed to keep things close for a time, but fouls began to mount, limiting Tres Tinkle and Ethan Thompson’s time on the court. Utah began to pull away behind some absolutely sickening play from Both Gach, who finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds and a dunk cruel enough to break your heart.
He didn’t even lead the Utes in scoring. That would be Timmy Allen, who had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.
Tres Tinkle led the Beavers in scoring, but it will be a game he wishes to forget. After a solid first half, Tinkle all but disappeared in the second, only scoring 5 points in the second. Kylor Kelley also had a miserable game, after not scoring in the first half, Kelley finished with 4 points and 10 rebounds. He did add 5 blocks to his season total, but it wasn’t enough to slow the Utah offense.
The Beavers shooting was bad, but it was especially awful from beyond the arc, where Oregon State made only 3 of their 21 attempts. Overall the Beavers finished with a 38.3 shooting percentage from the field.
Oregon State’s next shot at getting a Pac-12 win will be even tougher; they’ll take on the 11-2 Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday, January 5th. That game will be at 3:00 PM PT. Check back with Building the Dam for more coverage.