Oregon State
Iona
Balanced Beavers Bash Gaels
November 18, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Corvallis, Ore. – Freshman center Drew Eubanks scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to lead Oregon State to a convincing 93-73 triumph over Iona on Tuesday night before a crowd of 4,344 at Gill Coliseum.
Eubanks made 7 of 8 shots in the final 20 minutes, when the Beavers (2-0) outscored the Gaels (0-2) 52-44 to break open what had been a relatively competitive game. He also hit 3 of 4 free throws and added five rebounds.
Six players hit double figures as the Beavers set a team-high for scoring in the Wayne Tinkle coaching era. Their previous best came in a 90-59 rout of DePaul on Dec. 18, 2014.
Only two Beavers played more than 32 minutes in an impressive team effort. Senior Gary Payton II had 12 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals and posted his eighth career double-double. Senior guard Langston Morris-Walker added 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Freshman guard Stephen Thompson Jr. had 16 points; freshman forward Tres Tinkle scored 11 and junior guard Malcolm Duvivier added 10.
The Beavers used a 16-4 run over the final 4:34 of the first half to get some separation. Morris-Walker had seven points in that decisive span, Tinkle six.
OSU then built its lead to 16 points (49-33) on a Payton II layup with 17:21 left in the game. They expanded that spread to 22 (65-43) on a Eubanks dunk, off a no-look feed from Tinkle, with 11:04 remaining.
Three-point shooting kept the Gaels remotely within striking distance but they never drew closer than 11 (77-66). A 3-pointer by Morris-Walker pushed the margin to 8-66 with 3:31 to play and the Beavers pulled away from there to capture the first-ever game between the programs.
OSU had 20 assists on 32 baskets, outrebounded the Gaels 45-31 and had a commanding 48-18 edge in points in the paint.
OSU also led in points off turnovers (22-14); second-chance points (16-11), fast-break points (20-13) and points off the bench (30-15).
The Beavers play their first road game of the season on Thursday, at Rice of the American Athletic Conference in a 6 p.m. contest at the Tudor Fieldhouse. OSU then concludes the brief road trip at UC Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. Saturday.
OSU's next home game is 6 p.m. Nov. 24 against the Valparaiso Crusaders of the Horizon League. The game will be televised by Pac-12 Networks. Valparaiso defeated Iona 82-58 in Indiana this past Sunday.
Fans can purchase OSU men's basketball season tickets and single-game tickets by visiting this link or by calling 800-GO-BEAVS. Far West Classic Invite tickets will be included for all season-ticket holders, giving fans a total of 15 more games to watch in Corvallis and Portland during the 2015-16 season (including the exhibition game).
For Far West Classic Invite tickets and other information, click on this link.
