Oregon State
Southern Illinois Edwardsville
Beavers Tame Cougars In N7 Game, 101-81
November 27, 2013 | Men's Basketball
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State overpowered the SIUE Cougars, 101-81, in the annual Nike N7 Game on Tuesday night to win its third straight game in front of a crowd of 4,823 at Gill Coliseum.
Devon Collier dominated in every facet of the game, putting up 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. The Bronx, N.Y., native scored 20-plus points for the ninth time in his career and the second game in a row.
Angus Brandt also looked sharp for the Beavers, finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds. The Aussie was solid inside in the opening stanza, pouring in eight points and grabbing five boards to go along with it.
Roberto Nelson found himself as a key distributor in the first half, dishing out four assists. After the intermission, he returned to his shooting ways, reaching double digits for the 21st consecutive game, finishing with 17 points and five rebounds. Nelson also tied his career high with seven assists for the third consecutive game.
"When your best player, Roberto Nelson, doesn't even look at the basket for the first 15 or 20 minutes of the game, it sets a tone for everybody else," Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson said. "To be able to have 32 baskets and 23 assists, that is a real testament to these players and their feelings towards one another and their ability to follow a game plan."
The Beavers registered 100 points for the 32nd time in school history when Langston Morris-Walker hit a three-pointer in the final seconds.
Oregon State (3-1) started the game on an 11-3 run and didn't look back from there. The Beavers never trailed during the contest and held an impressive 28-point lead at the 14:42 mark of the second frame.
Victor Robbins made his presence known early on, tallying 10 of the Beavers' first 18 points. At the 4:43 mark in the second half, he surpassed his career-high of 11 points on a running floater to finish with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
Sophomore Olaf Schaftenaar also tallied a career high with 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field, including a three-pointer at the 8:56 mark in the second half.
Three consecutive slam dunks by Collier not only got the raucous Oregon State student section on their feet, but it gave the Beavers a 24-11 lead with 13:08 remaining in the first half.
An explosive one-handed slam by Jarmal Reid got the crowd on its feet at the 7:05 mark in the first half. Reid followed the rim-rocker with another bucket, converting on a layup in transition.
At the intermission, Oregon State led 52-29, shooting a lights out 64.5 percent. The Beavers converted on 20-of-31 shots and also outscored the Cougars 34-8 in the paint, 16-2 off turnovers and 12-0 on fast break points.
SIUE (1-6) came out hungry in the second half, cutting the lead to 19 points with 11:53 left to go in the game. Despite this, the Beavers kept their cool and outlasted the Cougars in the second half.
The Cougars were led by Maurice Wiltz, who registered 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Wiltz made most of his impact from behind the arc, scoring 12 points from downtown on 4-of-6 shooting.
Freshmen Hallice Cooke and Malcolm Duvivier each played valuable minutes for the Beavers in the backcourt. Cooke contributed seven points, five assists and three rebounds, while Duvivier scored his first career points on a layup in the first half before finishing with four points.
With the win Oregon State improved to 4-2 in Nike N7 Games. N7 is Nike's commitment to bring sport and all of its benefits to Native American and Aboriginal communities in the United States and Canada.
Next up the Beavers will play at DePaul in a game televised nationally on Fox Sports 1 at 1 p.m. PT. (3 p.m. CT).
