Oregon State
Montana
Beavers Cruise To 71-46 Win Over Montana In Front Of Raucous Crowd
December 04, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2011
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Ahmad Starks scored a game-high 16 points to lead Oregon State to a 71-46 victory over the Montana Grizzlies Sunday in front of 5,518 at Gill Coliseum, the largest non-conference regular season home crowd since 2006.
The win pushed the Beavers to 6-1 for the season, the team's best record after seven games since the 2002-03 team opened the year in the same fashion. The crowd was the largest in a non-conference regular season home game since a 60-53 loss to No. 12 LSU on Dec. 17, 2006 (6,724).
Oregon State overcame a slow start offensively with its usual stingy defense, forcing 18 Grizzly turnovers as the Big Sky Conference members mustered a season-low 31.5 shooting percentage (17-of-54). The 25-point defeat was Montana's largest setback since Dec. 20, 2008.
"We approached this game as a really important game," Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson said. "This was a team that had beaten a really good Long Beach State team who ended beating some good teams. They are closest physically to a Pac-12 team. They have good size, they have decent speed and they have a good guard. We wanted to use this as a barometer to where we stood with teams like this. It was a really good test for us this time and I thought the guys did a really good job."
Starks opened the scoring with a three-pointer just over three minutes into the game, followed by five straight points by teammate Angus Brandt and the Beavers built an 8-0 lead. Montana rallied to within 10-9 on a Billy Reader basket at 12:17, but would then be outscored by the Beavers 14-0 over the next 6:34. Oregon State built the lead to as many as 15 points in the first before settling for a 34-21 halftime advantage thanks to a Jared Cunningham long three-pointer at the buzzer.
"It happens when it happens; actually I haven't been shooting the ball well at all," Starks said following the game. "Tonight I got a good rhythm from shoot-around earlier in the day and it translated to the game. My teammates got me the ball in good position so I was able to take advantage of it."
Montana narrowed the gap to nine points at 17:03 of the second half at 38-29, but the Beavers went on a 22-6 run over the next 5:47 to put the game away. OSU's biggest lead of the night was at 71-43 after a pair of free throws by Roberto Nelson.
"Our defense is a function of hard work and the way these guys approach it," Robinson said. "I think our guys really enjoy playing defense and that is a huge piece of trying to get guys to play quality man-to-man defense - is having guys who want to be defenders. We have good offensive players who like defending and that is a real treat."
Starks, who tied a career-high with four three-pointers, was joined in double-figures for scoring by the 14 points from Jared Cunningham, while Nelson added 11 and Devon Collier 10. Guard Will Cherry was the only Grizzly in double-figures, scoring 13 points.
Oregon State takes most of the week off for finals before returning to action in game two of its five-game homestand Friday night against the Idaho Vandals. A victory over Idaho would give the Beavers their best record after eight games since the 1986-87 season and would mark its sixth consecutive non-conference home victory dating back to last season.
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