Freshmen Shine In Intrasquad Scrimmage
October 29, 2015 | Men's Basketball
The veterans performed as expected and the freshmen delivered as advertised as the Black team defeated the Orange 77-54 on Wednesday night at the Dam Slam intrasquad game at Gill Coliseum.
Freshman guard Stephen Thompson Jr. scored 18 of his game-high 28 points in the first 10 minutes to pace the victors, who led 40-20 at halftime and were never threatened. He was 5-of-6 from deep, 9 of 14 overall and made all five of his free throws in an impressive debut, albeit one without the pressure and intensity of a counting game.
“It was pretty fun to get out there and play up-and-down,” said Thompson, a MaxPreps All-American and the CIF Southern Section Division IV Player of the Year as a senior at Bishop Montgomery High School in Southern California who was ranked among the top 63 players nationally by Rivals.com, ESPN and Scout.com.
“It was my first time playing in Gill. It was a nice environment. I felt good about how I shot, and we shot it pretty well as a team. It felt like a shooter's gym, everybody was hitting shots.
“We looked pretty comfortable out there offensively. We just have to work defensively.”
Added coach Wayne Tinkle of Thompson Jr.: “He's been shooting lights-out. Give him a lot of credit, but we are also going to get after who was guarding him” and allowed so many open looks.
“I'm really proud of him, he made some nice plays and looked mature out there for a true freshman.”
The veterans were evenly divided between the squads. Senior Olaf Schaftenaar played for the Black team, senior Langston Morris-Walker and junior Malcolm Duvivier for the Orange.
Senior guard Gary Payton II and freshman guard Derrick Bruce both played one half for each team.
Morris-Walker had 16 points, Duvivier 14. Freshmen Tres Tinkle and Drew Eubanks complemented Thompson Jr. with 15 and 12 points, respectively, for the Black team. Bruce had 13 total points.
First-year Beavers combined for 79 of the 121 points.
“It was nice to see some of the young fellows shoot it like they did and make some plays,” coach Tinkle said. “We know they will have a big, big role in our season.”
On this night it was apparent the Beavers should have far more offensive weapons than they did in 2014-15, when they averaged 55.5 points in Pac-12 games. They went 17-14 primarily on the strength of their defense, which allowed just 59.2 points per outing.
The teams were a combined 17-for-33 from beyond the arc as Morris-Walker (4-7), Schaftenaar (2-2) and Bruce (3-5) joined Thompson Jr. in hitting at least half of their attempts.
“It was nice to see some shots go in,” coach Tinkle said. “We had a lot of guys make threes and get some baskets but then, do you worry that your defense wasn't there?
“We know our defense wasn't near where it should be. But for the first time out we made some shots and we escaped without any injuries,” a definite plus for a team already missing seniors Daniel Gomis and Jarmal Reid, junior Cheikh N'diaye and freshman Kendal Manuel to injuries.
“Our bigs were a little sloppy with the ball and our guards needed to play-make a little more,” he added. “We didn't have enough assists. We have to get to where we are dual threats in scoring and setting guys up
“We had some guys attack the rim and we shot it in from outside. [There were] a lot of good things offensively, but we know we have a long way to go defensively.
“We want to play up-tempo but if we don't defend we are going to walk it up. We have to be a lot better defensively than we were.”
Bruce won the slam dunk contest, dethroning two-time defending champion Duvivier. Schaftenaar outshot Thompson Jr. in the 3-point contest.
The Beavers return to action on Thursday, Nov. 5, with a 7 p.m. exhibition game against Western Oregon at Gill Coliseum. It will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
They open the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 14 with a home game against Northwest Christian; no tipoff time has been announced but the game will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
Fans can purchase season and single-game tickets by visiting this link or calling 800-GO-BEAVS. Far West Classic Invite tickets will be included for all men's basketball season-ticket holders, giving fans a total of 18 games to watch in Corvallis and Portland during the 2015-16 season.
For Far West Classic Invite ticket opportunities and other information, go to www.rosequarter.com/FWC2015.
