Oregon State
Colorado
Payton II Stars In Loss To Buffs
January 14, 2016 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER, Colo. – Senior guard Gary Payton II established career-highs in points (26) and just missed one in rebounds while compiling his 12th career double-double, but Oregon State fell 71-54 to Colorado on Wednesday night in a Pac-12 game at the Coors Events Center.
Payton had 18 points in the second half, scored 12 in a row for OSU (11-4, 2-2 Pac-12) in one stretch and momentarily shot them into the lead, 38-37, with 12:29 to play. However the Buffaloes (12-4, 2-2) responded with seven unanswered points for a 44-38 lead with 9:47 left and they steadily pulled away to win for the ninth time in 10 home starts.
He was 8-for-20 from the field, hit his lone 3-popint shot, made 9 of 12 free throws and also had three assists and three steals in 37 minutes. Five of his 15 rebounds were off the offensive board.
Payton's previous career-best was 25 points, against Valparaiso on Nov. 24. He has scored 22, 20 and 26 points in his last three games, a 22.7-point average. His rebounding best is 16, set against Mississippi Valley State last season.
Freshman guard Stephen Thompson Jr. added 10 points but no other Beaver had more than six points. The Beavers were just 7-for-32 from the field in the second half, when no one except Payton scored more than one basket.
“Big disappointment,” OSU coach Wayne Tinkle said. “We didn't stick to the game plan and [we lost] the physical battle. Gary had to put on Superman's cape” because he got no help offensively.
“We have to get production out of our veterans and starters and our bigs have to get more than one rebound on the defensive end. We missed a lot of open shots and we made it hard on ourselves by not sharing it when we had a chance to.”
OSU had just three assists and was a frigid 3-of-14 on 3-point shots. Senior forward Olaf Schaftenaar had just one point and his streak of games with at least one 3-pointer ended at 13.
The Beavers trailed 29-25 at halftime and were within 59-51 following a Tres Tinkle 3-pointer with 3:58 to play but they could draw no closer.
They resume Pac-12 action at Utah on Sunday, starting at 5:30 p.m. PST. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
