Oregon State
Vanderbilt
Beavers Narrowly Defeated By No. 18 Vanderbilt, 64-62
November 21, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2011
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Devon Collier had 19 points, Ahmad Starks added 16 and Jared Cunningham had seven steals for Oregon State in a hard-fought 64-62 loss to No. 18 Vanderbilt on Monday night in the championship game of the TicketCity Legends Classic at the IZOD Center.
"I thought my team did a terrific job," Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson said. "I know a lot of you guys are surprised by our team, but I'm not. These guys have been working like this since April. This team is extraordinary from a standpoint that none of them care what the other guys do except play hard and play together. I told these guys in the locker room that for the last 17 years this is the first time I've wanted to be on a team. I want to be on their team. I don't want to just be coaching; I want to play with these guys. They are just so much fun to watch and coach. I think that says it."
Brad Tinsley's 15-foot jumper with 4.5 seconds left gave Vanderbilt the 64-62 lead and Cunningham missed a running shot at the buzzer.
"The last play of the game never costs you the game," Robinson said. "It's the other stuff that happens before then. The refs never really cost you the game. If you're doing what you're supposed to do, you don't win or lose by two. But having said that, there was a lot of contact from the time he took the ball out until the very end. But I'm not complaining. There was just a lot of contact."
Jeffery Taylor had 13 points for the Commodores and had the task to slow down Cunningham who had 35 and 37 points, respectively, in his previous two games.
"He did a great job on Cunningham all game. Jeff left it all out there," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "It was a solid outing defending their best player. Jeff has grown up and matured to handle that responsibility. We made some big adjustments to keep him off the foul line. He had 23 foul shots the other night and we kept him down (to five) tonight. I'll take that. It was a big emphasis for the entire team to guard him. When he had the ball, they all had to guard him."
Cunningham, who was named to the All Tournament Team, finished with nine points, three assists and three rebounds, while Eric Moreland had a strong game off the bench with eight points and eight rebounds.
"Jared's a marked man now," Robinson said. "We expect Jared to understand that and help others get involved, even though he was being covered so tightly. He had seven steals. He affects the game even when he's not scoring 35 points a game."
John Jenkins, Vanderbilt's top scorer at 23 points per game and the tournament MVP, finished with 14 points for the Commodores (4-1), who led by eight with 10:10 to play.
"Day in and day out, John Jenkins has proven to be one of the best shooters in the country," Tinsley said. "John is such a great weapon that it was only natural that they would flood to him.
"Coach is a genius in drawing up last-second plays," Tinsley said. "Jeffery is also a good scorer. When it came to me, I was glad to get the chance to take the shot."
He almost didn't, because he nearly slipped on the play.
"We first went to see if John could get a shot and we were looking for a play we run in the last seconds, but I got the ball," Tinsley said. "Steve (Tchiengang) set a great pick and I got the ball. I was afraid after I slipped. I almost fell down. I slipped and faded with my left foot, but I was able to square up and get the shot there. I felt good when it left my hands."
Oregon State used a 5-0 run to get within 57-56 with 4:37 to play before Steve Tchiengang hit a 3-pointer 13 seconds later. The Beavers tied the game at 60 on a reverse layup by Joe Burton with 2:13 to go. Taylor gave the Commodores the lead with 1:42 left after gathering a loose ball under the basket.
Oregon State tied it for the last time on a jumper by Starks with 33 seconds to play.
Jenkins, who had 28 points in the semifinal win over North Carolina State, struggled from the field and finished 5-of-13.
The Beavers (4-1) return to action on Saturday at Towson at 11 a.m. PT in a game that will be televised on ESPN3.
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