Beavers Fall to Bruins, 57-52

Oregon State hung tough with the best team in the conference for most of the game, but couldn’t pull off the upset in the end, with the Beavers falling to the #23 UCLA Bruins 57-52 on the road. Oregon State falls to 8-8, and 4-6 in the Pac-12.

Oregon State kept pace with the Bruins for the first half, with the Beavers offense fueled by solid three point shooting. Jarod Lucas and Maurice Calloo each hit two, with Ethan Thompson chipping in one. Meanwhile, Warith Alatishe held down the post with 4 rebounds and two blocks in the half. UCLA managed to take a slim 2 point lead into halftime, 27-25.

The second half started all Bruins, with a pair of David Singleton threes giving UCLA one of their biggest leads up to that point. Ethan Thompson and Gianni Hunt combined to get the Beavers back within striking range, but the Bruins held a narrow lead. As the half wound down, Warith Alatishe got the Beavers close, with a dunk and a pair of free throws getting the team within 3 points. the Beavers had a chance with the seconds winding down, but Ethan Thompson lost the ball, and UCLA hit their free throws to put the game away.

Ethan Thompson once again led the team in scoring, with 16 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. He was the only Beaver to hit double digits tonight. Maurice Calloo was the next best scoring, finishing with 9 points 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Warith Alatishe finished with 6 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.

The Beavers will return to Corvallis next week to take on the Washington schools. They’ll face the Washington Huskies on Thursday, February 4th and the Washington State Cougars on Saturday, February 6th. Check back with Building the Dam for previews of both games.