The Beavers are struggling, and return home on Thursday.
A difficult road trip ended with a second straight sound defeat for Oregon State men’s basketball, 81-67 to Washington State on Sunday.
The Beavers (8-9, 1-3 WCC) were led by Dez White with 16 points and Isaiah Sy with 11.
The Cougars (8-9, 3-1 WCC) had four players in double figures: Ace Glass (16), ND Okafor (13), Jerone Morton (13), and Eemeli Yalaho (11).
The Beavers got behind 12-2 early, but Wayne Tinkle’s team responded by making several outside shots to cut the WSU lead to 14-12.
WSU then took advantage of a lack of size inside for the Beavers, taking a 24-17 lead midway through the first half thanks in part to a handful of key turnovers from OSU.
Despite outshooting the Cougars by more than 10% for a portion of the first half, OSU fell behind 31-23 after surrendering seven offensive rebounds.
WSU got its lead up to 47-33 by halftime, forcing seven turnovers by the Beavers.
Much like its last game, a blowout loss on the road at University of the Pacific, OSU came out flat to start the second half. WSU extended its lead to 53-33, and Tinkle immediately called timeout to get in his players’ ears.
The Beavers were competitive in the ensuing minutes, but only able to get the deficit down to 59-43 at the 13:12 mark of the second half. Then, Noah Amenhauser picked up a flagrant foul.
OSU chased the game down the stretch and was able to cut into the lead further, but its shooting percentage dipped along the way down to a final of 44%. The Beavers ended up losing the rebounding margin, 38-25, which included an eye-popping 14 offensive boards for the Cougars.
Next game: Oregon State (8-9, 1-3 WCC) vs. Seattle (12-4, 1-2 WCC)
- When: Thursday, Jan. 8
- Time: 7:00 pm PT
- Where: Gill Coliseum, Corvallis
- Stream: ESPN+
