Oregon State
Washington
Beavers Win, Stay Perfect at Fort Wayne
February 09, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Oregon State's amazing homecourt winning streak continued unabated on Sunday as the Beavers handled Washington 64-50 to improve to 14-0 at Gill Coliseum, thrilling a season-high crowd of 9,114.
Junior guard Gary Payton II had a game-high 17 points, five rebounds, five steals, four assists and a blocked shot in 39 minutes as the Beavers (16-7, 7-4 Pac-12) completed a weekend sweep of the Washington schools at Fort Wayne. They edged Washington State 55-50 on Thursday.
No other team in OSU's storied basketball history had ever started a season by winning 14 consecutive home games. The Beavers are also off to their best overall start, and their best Pac-12 start, since the 1989-90 conference champions led by Payton II's father, All-American Gary Payton were 19-4 and 9-2 at the same juncture.
Junior guard Malcolm Duvivier added 14 points and three assists, junior forward Jarmal Reid had 12 points and junior guard Langston Morris-Walker had 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals for OSU.
“It was just a great team effort,” associate head coach Kerry Rupp said. “Everybody buying in, playing hard and doing what we're asking them to do.”
The Beavers held the Huskies (14-9, 3-8) without a basket for the first 12 minutes and limited them to 36 percent (15-42) from the field overall. OSU led 21-18 at halftime and steadily pulled away in the second half by shooting 56 percent (15-27) from the field.
Washington had averaged 78 points in its previous three conference games and had shot 53 percent from the field in that span.
“We got a good start defensively,” Rupp said. “They made a nice run at us before halftime but coach [Wayne Tinkle] really challenged the players at halftime. We wore them down defensively and did a much better job offensively of attacking and getting to the foul line.
“It was important for us to be the aggressor and really attack and get to the line. And we did a great job of knocking down free throws. Being aggressive and attacking was really the key for us.”
OSU was 12 of 15 (.800) from the line in the second half and 17 of 22 (.773) overall. It outscored the Huskies 43-32 in the second half.
“When we move and are aggressive we're a good offensive team,” Rupp said. “When we stand around and let people push us, disrupt us and pressure us,” they struggle.
“We didn't let them do that in the second half. They got into us and we exploited them by being lower and wider. We had some big-time seals and got to the rim and scored.”
OSU used a 14-2 run early in the second half to transform a tenuous 25-22 lead into a more comfortable 39-24 cushion with 11:41 to play on a Payton II layup. Washington never got closer than nine points thereafter and OSU's lead reached 18 points at its zenith following two Olaf Schaftenaar free throws with 1:22 remaining.
The Beavers were outrebounded 32-24, hit just 1 of 9 3-point shots and played much of the game with bigs Reid and Daniel Gomis in foul trouble and limited to a combined 33 minutes. However, sophomore center Cheikh N'diaye came off the bench for a key six points and two rebounds. He had scored just five points in his previous nine conference games.
The Beavers head to the Southland this week for a two-game series against the Los Angeles schools, who they swept in Corvallis in late January. They play at UCLA at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, and at USC at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
