Oregon State
Hofstra
Cunningham, Collier Lead Beavers Past Hofstra, 82-72
November 16, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2011
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Jared Cunningham scored a career-high 35 points and Devon Collier added a career-best 25 points as Oregon State remained undefeated with a spirited 82-72 victory over the Hofstra Pride in the second game of the TicketCity Legends Classic Regional Round on Wednesday night at Gill Coliseum.
"This was by far the gutsiest win I've seen since I've been here," fourth-year head coach Craig Robinson said. "To take a bunch of really good basketball players from New York City who tried to come in here and steal one from you, take a punch in the mouth, be able to deliver one back and come out with a win was just tremendous. Everybody contributed to this, not just the guys who played, because in order to be prepared for a game like this you have to have hard practices. There is a really good feeling in that locker room right now, winning a game like that."
Cunningham hit 11-of-16 field goals and 12-of-17 free throws as he scored the most points by a Beaver since Marcel Jones notched 35 against Northern Colorado in November of 2006.
Collier, who hit 9-of-12 field goals and 7-of-13 from the free throw line, benefitted from some crisp passes from Joe Burton. Burton recorded a rare assist-rebound double-double with 11 and 10, respectively. Burton became the first Beaver with double figures for assists since guard Lamar Hurd had 10 in a 2004 game against Washington.
"In the history of Princeton basketball, they are always guys like that," Robinson said of Burton. "Joe is special because, unlike most of the guys who I've seen play this position, Joe also has the IQ of a point guard and can see steps ahead in the game of basketball. Joe can make all the passes ... (and) I haven't seen a Princeton-type center get 11 assists in a long time, let along with three turnovers."
The Beavers (3-0) found themselves in an early hole down 6-0, but put together a 19-4 run over a span of just over four minutes, including 11 straight, to forge a 19-10 lead at the 12:41 mark of the first half. The Pride, a member of the Colonial Athletic Conference, rallied back with solid half court defense and when Stevie Mejia made a layup with 4:56 left pushed to a 33-28 lead and would go into the halftime locker room with a 41-39 advantage.
Angus Brandt hit a jumper less than a minute into the second half to give the Beavers a 44-43 lead, a lead it would never relinquish. The Beavers had no lead greater than six points in the second half until Cunningham hit two free throws with 3:45 left to give them a 72-64 lead. Oregon State, which struggled from the free throw line most of the night, put the game away by making 6-of-6 opportunities in the closing moments.
"This was a great opportunity for us," Hofstra head coach Mo Cassara. "Coach Craig (Robinson) does a terrific job with this team. They have great young players and are a fantastic team. It was a blessing to come out and play in a great environment and arena against a Pac-12 team. I am obviously not pleased with how we executed down the stretch, but it is a good learning experience for our young guys."
The Beavers travel to East Rutherford, N.J. to play Texas (2-0) at approximately 6 p.m. PT on Saturday, Nov. 19 in the TicketCity Legends Classic Championship Rounds at the IZOD Center in a game televised on ESPN3.com.
North Carolina State and Vanderbilt will play in the opening game of the Legends Classic Championship Rounds at 3:30 p.m. PT and the Beavers game against the Longhorns will begin 25 minutes after that game ends. The losers of Saturday's games will play against each other at 3:30 p.m. PT on Monday, Nov. 21, while the winners will meet 25 minutes after the first game ends.
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