Oregon State
Oregon
Morris-Walker Leads OSU in Pac-12 debut
January 04, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Eugene, Ore. – Junior guard Langston Morris-Walker reached double figures for the ninth time this season and led Oregon State with 16 points on Saturday in a 71-59 setback at Oregon in Round 1 of the men's basketball Civil War.
The Beavers (9-4, 0-1 Pac-12) erased two 12-point deficits but could never pull ahead in their Pacific-12 Conference opener, played before an announced crowd of 7,314 at Knight Arena.
Junior guard Gary Payton II added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists and reached double figures for the 11th time in 13 games. Junior forward Olaf Schaftenaar added 10 points, all in the second half.
“The thing we're disappointed about was we lacked a little focus and fire at the start,” OSU coach Wayne Tinkle said. “We did a great job of battling and showing some character to get back in it but in the second half we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot with defensive mistakes.”
Oregon (11-3, 1-0 Pac-12) used a 20-6 run in the first seven minutes of the second half to break a 29-29 standoff and build an insurmountable lead. Senior guard Joseph Young had three 3-pointers and 11 points in the spree, which ended with Oregon ahead 49-35 with 13:08 remaining.
Young was 5-for-6 on 3-pointers, hit 10 of 15 shots overall and led all scorers with 27 points. Elgin Cook added 18 points and nine rebounds.
“There's one guy out there we absolutely could not lose [defensively] and we lost him a ton in both halves. But in the second half especially from three-point range,” Tinkle said of Young.
“You have to make sure you know where their best players are. He hit a couple 3-pointers near the end of the shot clock that took our momentum away from us.”
Oregon led by as many as 17 (56-39) in the second half , but Jarmal Reid's 3-point play capped a 13-4 run that got OSU with 60-52 with 7:26 remaining. However, Young replied with a 3-pointer just as the shot clock expired to restore a double-digit advantage OSU couldn't overcome.
Oregon established the tempo from the start as it broke to a quick 10-0 lead as the Beavers missed their first nine shots. Victor Robbins finally broke the ice with 14:33 to play in the half but OSU made just two if its first 18 shots.
Oregon led by 12 (16-4) with 13:33 to play before the Beavers righted themselves late in the half and pulled within 23-18 on a 3-pointer by Morris-Walker. They then inched within 25-23 on a Payton basket with 1:57 left and then finally pulled even even at 27 with another Morris-Walker hoop with 57 seconds to play.
Oregon regained the halftime lead, 29-27, on a basket by Young with 40 seconds to play. OSU made 6 of its final 9 shots from the field after starting 2-for-18 and finished 8-of-27 (.297).
“Our guys didn't throw it in and we battled to the end,” Tinkle said. “But we got off-page. Those are things we have to correct.
“It was an inexperienced group playing on the road and playing against our rival. Some of our vulnerabilities showed. We will get back to work, keep chopping wood and make sure we take a step forward our next time out.”
The Beavers were outrebounded for just the fifth time this season, 35-28. They shot a season-low .267 (19-54) from the field and had 12 turnovers to Oregon's 14.
The rematch is set for 8 p.m. March 3 at Gill Coliseum in the regular season finale for both teams.
OSU still leads the series 185-158. Its 185 wins against the Ducks is the third-most against an opponent in NCAA history. Washington has defeated Oregon 188 times; Kansas has defeated Kansas State 187 times.
OSU resumes Pac-12 action against Arizona State at 6 p.m. Thursday at Gill Coliseum. It will be televised by Fox Sports 1.
