Beavers Shine On Senior Day
February 29, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Corvallis, Ore. – Oregon State celebrated Senior Day in impressive fashion on Sunday, dismantling Washington State 69-49 before a sellout crowd of 9,604 at Gill Coliseum.
The Beavers honored seniors Gary Payton II, Olaf Schaftenaar, Langston Morris-Walker, Daniel Gomis and Jarmal Reid, and graduating junior Justin Stangel before the game as part of the Senior Day festivities. Payton, Schaftenaar and Morris-Walker then combined for 32 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds as the Beavers closed out their 2015-16 home schedule with a 14-3 record.
The Beavers (17-10, 8-8 Pac-12) led for the final 36 minutes in posting their sixth consecutive win over the Cougars (9-20, 1-16). A 12-0 run gave OSU a 14-4 lead with 13:56 left in the first half and WSU never got closer than eight points thereafter.
The lead reached 23 at its zenith and WSU was never closer than 15 points over the final 14 minutes.
“I just tried to get everybody involved early to get us going,” said Payton II, who had two one-handed dunks in the first half to help fire up the team and OSU's second sellout crowd of the season. “We jumped on them early and stayed on top of them.”
Payton wore No. 20 to honor his father, former OSU All-American and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton. Payton II brought his father's number out of retirement as a special tribute and responded with a solid all-around performance, with 13 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
“I just wanted to do something special for him, the program and the community,” Payton II said. “They haven't seen No. 20 since he played here” and led the Beavers to three NCAA and one NIT postseason berths.
Payton II had planned the surprise for several days but did not tell his father, who watched from his traditional courtside seat with his mother, Monique, and other family members.
“It was hard to hold it in and keep the secret,” Payton II said. “He was surprised,” when Payton II was introduced wearing the number his father made famous throughout Beaver Nation.
Schaftenaar hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points, freshman center Drew Eubanks added 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocks and freshman forward Tres Tinkle had 13 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Morris-Walker just missed joining the group in double figures, as he had eight points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists, the second one a pass to Gomis for a lay-in that earned a standing ovation from a crowd appreciative of what the oft-injured Gomis has meant to the program.
“That was the highlight of the game to me,” Morris-Walker said of Gomis's basket. “The sole mission was to get Daniel a basket or a block and I'm glad I was the one to get it to him.
“It has meant everything to me coming to Gill, playing game after game, year after year, it's been amazing,” he added. “It's not about the stat sheet. I'm just glad to be here and to get my degree, that's what I'm looking forward to.”
Morris-Walker started the first 16 games of the season before Tinkle took his spot in the lineup, and his minutes diminished accordingly. He played a season-low five minutes in the 82-81 win over Washington on Feb. 24, and had not scored more than five points since a 12-point effort at Arizona State on Jan. 28.
His contributions as a reserve did not go unnoticed or unappreciated, however.
“It speaks volumes,” assistant coach Stephen Thompson said, alluding to Morris-Walker's enthusiasm on the bench. “He is a guy who has sacrificed for the team this year.
“The other guys see that and feed off of it. That's senior leadership. You don't see that from younger players and we appreciate his attitude.”
WSU shot just 36 percent (20-55) from the field and 21 percent (4-19) from deep. OSU outrebounded WSU 43-33 and had eight steals in holding an opponent under 50 points for the first time this season.
“Washington State likes to score,” Thompson said. “We defended well and it was great to see us execute a defensive game plan.”
Coach Wayne Tinkle said he was pleased there was no hangover from the emotional victory over Washington, or the pregame ceremony.
“You always worry about Senior Days and the lingering emotional affect,” he said. “Our guys answered and it was really neat. It's a real tribute to our guys for what they've done in a short time here.
“The crowd makes all the difference and when they come out and support us and jump on board, this is an incredible deal. I'm thrilled to be a part of it and we're hungry to keep it going because this team has incredible potential.”
OSU returns to action on Wednesday with an 8 p.m. game at USC that will be televised by Fox Sports 1. The Beavers conclude the regular season on Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. game at UCLA that will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
“We have to carry what we did tonight for the full 40 minutes” in Los Angeles, Payton II said. “Battle and fight on the road, advance and survive.
“It's been an amazing two years” since coming to OSU as an under-recruited transfer from Salt Lake Community College. “I'm happy it went well.
“We got the program turned around and got Corvallis excited again about Beaver basketball.”
