Oregon State
Grambling State
Nelson, Starks Put On Three-Point Shooting Display In Blowout Win
December 08, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2012
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Roberto Nelson and Ahmad Starks went tit for tat from beyond the arc Saturday afternoon at Gill Coliseum as they knocked down five three-pointers apiece to lead Oregon State to an 85-54 win over Grambling State in front of 3,291 fans.
Nelson made all five of his triples in the first half and finished with a season-high 26 points, while Starks continued his hot shooting, going 6-for-8 from the field and 5-for-7 from deep, to finish with 17 points. The Beavers' starting backcourt combined to make 10-of-13 three-pointers and 15-of-21 overall.
"We were kind of looking for a shooting night like that from Roberto; it was good to see him have it," Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson said. "When you marry Roberto and Ahmad together, that's one heck of a shooting backcourt. It's going to be hard for folks to guard us in a zone."
Oregon State, which moved to 5-2 on the season, also got a double-double from Eric Moreland with a career-high tying 14 points and 13 rebounds. Devon Collier came off the bench once again to finish with 10 points, while Joe Burton added eight rebounds and a game-high five assists.
Robinson was quick to compliment Moreland, who posted his third double-double of the season and sixth in his career. "He's a rebounding machine right now. He's extremely passionate about doing that well."
The Beavers had the past seven days off for finals week but came out firing as Nelson and Starks accounted for OSU's first 16 points for a 16-3 lead at the 15:03 mark. The Tigers held tough for the next 10 minutes, trailing 33-21 with 4:01 to play in the first half, before the Beavers went on a 13-1 run to lead 46-22 at the break.
"It was good to have that start, but what was better was our intensity coming out ready to play," Robinson said. "I thought our defense was terrific. I thought we pressured them. We came out ready to play and our offense fed off our defense."
Oregon State kept the pressure on in the second half, taking a 41-point lead at 77-36 with 7:03 to play, when Robinson put all four of his freshmen - Olaf Schaftenaar, Jarmal Reid, Langston Morris-Walker and Victor Robbins - on the floor with sophomore Challe Barton.
"If we can go through the rest of these non-conference games with them getting a significant amount of minutes, they're going to be ready to help us in the conference," Robinson said about his freshmen.
Starks entered the game red hot after tying a single-game school record with seven three-pointers against Kansas. Nelson, meanwhile, hadn't made a triple in the past two games. But the junior guards played much like they did against Niagara in the season opener when they combined to score 40 points and make 11 from beyond the arc.
"The shots have just been coming pretty easily," Starks said. "I was just able to knock them down. So we all want to keep that going."
"I've been kind of hesitant to shoot the three because it hasn't been falling," Nelson added. "Guys like Ahmad and Eric have been getting on me to maintain my confidence and try to make every shot go in."
The "Expansion Crew" as Robinson calls his four walk-ons, consisting of Daniel Jones, C.J. Mitchell, Michael Moyer and Jullian Powers, checked into the game at the 1:34 mark to a loud applause from the remaining Beaver faithful.
Grambling State (0-6), which made the long trip from Louisiana for the first-ever meeting with Oregon State, got a team-high 19 points from Terry Rose and 11 rebounds from Demetri Wheeler.
The Beavers return to action Wednesday when they face Portland State (1-4) for the 13th time in history, but the first time ever at the 1,500-seat Peter W. Stott Center in Portland. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Northwest.
"We've got a tough game on Wednesday against Portland State at their place so we've got to shore up some of the mistakes we had here," Robinson said. "But I'm looking forward to seeing how this team bounces back from this performance."
Oregon State's next appearance at Gill Coliseum is Sunday, Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. against Chicago State in a game that will feature a special performance by TNT Dunk Squad at halftime.
Click on the following YouTube link to watch the post-game press conference with Coach Robinson:
Click on the following YouTube link to watch the post-game press conference with Nelson and Starks:
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