Oregon State
Portland State
Beavers Hold Off Scrappy Vikings For Robinson's 100th Career Win
December 12, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2012
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
PORTLAND, Ore. - Four Oregon State players scored in double figures, led by Devon Collier's game-high 23 points, to lead the Beavers to a 79-74 win over Portland State and give Craig Robinson his 100th career win in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,500 at the Peter W. Stott Center Wednesday night.
The Beavers (6-2) were the first Pac-12 team to play at the Stott Center and needed a total team effort against the scrappy Vikings as Joe Burton had 20 points, Roberto Nelson added 16 and Eric Moreland equaled his career high with 14 to join Collier in the double-digit category.
With the victory, Robinson notched his 100th career win with 30 coming at Brown University and 70 at Oregon State. He went back to his early coaching style with the Beavers by going to a 1-3-1 defense that turned a nine-point first half deficit into a 14-point second half cushion.
"We were down nine because we came out as if this was going to be a game at Gill and didn't realize the Vikings were going to play a really hard game because this is one of the biggest games of their season," Robinson said. "We had to adjust our intensity level, which I thought the guys did terrific using the 1-3-1 for some energy and then we righted the ship."
It was Oregon State's first game in Portland in seven years and more than half of the 1,500 in attendance were there to cheer on the Beavers.
"It was a fantastic atmosphere," Robinson said. "It was great to see the Beaver fans there, our Portland folks who don't necessarily get down to Corvallis to see the games. It's nice to win this game."
Portland State (1-5) started the game with a lot of energy, which was expected since the game was promoted as one of its biggest preseason contests in school history. The Vikings took a 12-3 early lead and held a nine-point margin at 22-13 at the 8:40 mark before the Beavers finished the half on a 19-4 run to lead 32-26 at the break.
Robinson was hit with a technical foul with the Beavers trailing 22-21, and it fired up the team as they went to the 1-3-1 defense and held Portland State with only four points the rest of the half. Oregon State got its first lead of the game on a sweet pass from Moreland to Collier for a 25-24 Beaver advantage.
"For you guys who know me, I didn't swear at the guy," Robinson said. "He screamed at me for making a call. So I was like `you can't scream at me' and he gave me a technical."
Oregon State used another big run, this time 14-4, to increase a slim 36-34 advantage to a 50-38 lead. The Beavers kept pounding the ball down low to Burton and Collier to take its biggest lead of the game at 59-45 with 8:11 to play.
The Vikings made one last push, using a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 61-55, before the Beavers made free throws down the stretch for the final margin.
The Beavers scored 56 points in the paint and forced 19 turnovers with 12 steals. They shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the field with Moreland, Burton and Collier going a combined 24-for-40.
Burton had career highs with 10 field goals on 17 attempts, while Nelson tied a career best with six assists and had a career-high five steals.
The Beavers are now 13-0 all-time against Portland State with four of the victories coming in Portland.
Oregon State is back at Gill Coliseum on Sunday at 4 p.m. against Chicago State in a game that will feature a special performance by TNT Dunk Squad at halftime.
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