Beavers MBB Back to Winning Ways vs Pacific
Oregon State got back in the win column Saturday night in Corvallis as they defeated Pacific 79-65.
Just two days removed from their most shocking performance of the season against Portland, the Beavs were able to shake off a bad first half and lock in defensively to send OSU to 8-6 in WCC play and 18-9 overall.
Josiah Lake started for the first time in his collegiate career for the Beavs Saturday night. When asked about the decision, coach Wayne Tinkle said the team "needed a spark defensively" adding that he's aware the team has "struggled on defense all season". Lake answered the call and provided great energy and timely scoring, as the freshman finished with a career high 16 points which led all Beavs scorers.
Six Beavs notched double digit scoring nights, with Demarco Minor recording his first double-double as an Beaver as he went for 11 points and 10 assists. Big man Parsa Fallah recorded 12 points and was able to reel in 7 rebounds on the night.
Pacific was able to keep this WCC contest close most of the night and even went into the half tied with Oregon State at 40 a piece. Pacific shot 15-25 from the floor during the first half including 6-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Peter Krivokapic went 4-5 from deep in the first half and Lamar Washington had a well rounded game for the Tigers as he went for 16 points 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists.
Pacific's shooting went ice cold in the second half as the Beavs held them to 6-20 shooting from the floor. Pacific didn't connect on a single three pointer in the final 20 minutes. The turning point Saturday night in Corvallis was when Parsa Fallah was able to get Pacific big man Jazz Gardener in foul trouble early in the second half which forced Gardener to sit. The Beavs feasted without Gardener on the court, taking the lead in the second half and extending the lead to 10 with ten minutes left in regulation.
Josiah Lake would add on 13 second-half points and the Beavers would take full advantage of 6 second-half turnovers by Pacific to ultimately seal the deal and log yet another home win. The win keeps Oregon State one game back of Santa Clara and still alive for fourth place in the WCC, which would give them an automatic bid into the quarterfinals of the WCC tournament. Oregon State is now 15-2 when playing at Gill Coliseum this season and 1-6 on the road in conference play.
The Beavs take to the road next week as they'll face Pepperdine and San Diego.
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Kyle is a 2019 graduate of Southern Oregon University and currently does play-by-play for SOU football and men’s and women’s soccer. He hosts a daily sports show in southern Oregon on The Ace Sports Radio, 107.9 FM and 1300 AM. Kyle also does play-by-play for the Rogue Valley Royals hockey team and the North Medford High School Black Tornado for TableRockSports.net. Kyle lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife and a Dalmatian named Penny.