Oregon State
Towson
With President In Attendance, Oregon State Rolls Past Towson, 66-46
November 26, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2011
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
TOWSON, Md. - President Barack Obama watched brother-in-law Craig Robinson guide Oregon State to a 66-46 victory over Towson on Saturday afternoon at the Towson Center Arena to equal the Beavers (5-1) best start since the 1980-81 season.
Seven different Oregon State teams have started with wins in five of its first six games since the Beavers won their first 26 contests in 1980. The last time Oregon State started 5-1 was 2002.
"Whenever you play on the road, it's nice to get a win especially when you've had a long road trip," Robinson said. "This is the 10th day for us and I thought we handled Towson's early start. They got off to a good start and we handled ourselves and sort of calmed down and got back to our usual way of playing. I was very pleased to see that we didn't get flustered with that flurry of activity."
The crowd inside Towson's arena erupted in cheers as Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama entered and shook fans' hands as they made their way to a pair of courtside seats.
Daughters Malia and Sasha sat in the first row of the bleachers. Also attending were Obama's mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a former professional basketball player and friend of Obama's from Chicago.
"We play in a conference that has really good fans, good venues, and a lot of pressure," Robinson said. "So we like to get a little taste of it by playing in tournaments like we did in the TicketCity Legends Classic and playing an away game like this where we know it's a good fan-followed team and it's going to be full when the President and First Lady are here."
Devon Collier scored 15 points to lead the Beavers in scoring for the second consecutive game, the first time he has done that in his career, while Jared Cunningham and Roberto Nelson each had 12 points and Joe Burton chipped in 10. Burton tied a career-high with four steals and Collier tied a career-high with three assists.
Towson dropped its home opener for the first time since 2005, falling to 0-5 under first-year coach Pat Skerry. Marcus Damas had career-highs with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers.
Oregon State grabbed control late in the first half, closing with a 12-2 run to take a 32-20 lead into the break. The Beavers defense clamped down after the Tigers jumped out to a four-point lead and forced 21 turnovers in the game, the fifth time they have forced 20 or more turnovers this season.
"We were allowing them to just bring the ball up and run their stuff," Robinson said about the first part of the game. "A little bit past the 12-minute timeout, we just came out and played our normal pressure defense and we forced some turnovers, got some easy baskets and then we started making some threes."
Catching an Oregon State game has become a post-Thanksgiving tradition for the Obamas. Last year, Robinson and the Beavers came to Washington and defeated Howard. The year before that, Oregon State traveled east and scored a win against George Washington.
"This is my third time doing it," Cunningham said about playing in front of the President. "It's always a great feeling to have the President come and watch the game. The other team is always going to play their hardest because it's on their home court. We did a good job tonight. I'm proud of the team for fighting hard and we got the win."
Actor Bill Murray, whose son, Luke, is an assistant coach at Towson, also attended the game and spent several minutes talking with the Obamas. He sat in the third row of the bleachers and posed for pictures with several fans.
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