Oregon State
California
Breakout Game For Derrick Bruce
March 11, 2016 | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Freshman guard Derrick Bruce scorched the nets for a career-high 25 points but Oregon State fell to California, 76-68, on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Bruce was 7-for-11 from the field, drained four 3-pointers in six attempts, shot 7 of 10 from the line and added three assists in a breakout performance. He obliterated his old career high of 11 points, accomplished most recently at UCLA on March 5.
“Offensively he did some really good things,” Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle said of Bruce, who began the night averaging 3.2 points per game. “If we don't have him show up, it could have been ugly.”
The sixth-seeded Beavers (19-12) battled the third-seeded Golden Bears (23-9) tooth-and-nail the entire second half. OSU took its first lead of the night, 55-54, on a 3-pointer by Gary Payton II with 6:53 to play, but the Bears answered with a 3-pointer on the next possession to go back ahead 57-55.
A conventional 3-point play by Stephen Thompson Jr. sent OSU back ahead 58-57 at the 6:19 mark. The Beavers took their last lead at 62-60 on two free throws by Payton with 4:48 remaining but Cal answered with a 10-1 run to finally pull away.
The Beavers were within 70-65 with 35 seconds left but Cal's Jordan Mathews hit a 3-pointer from the corner as the shot clock expired to give the Bears just enough breathing room.
“I'm proud of our effort; when we were facing a lot of adversity we still were in it late,” Tinkle said. “They hit some dagger threes and got some big offensive rebounds.
“All in all we battled our tails off. We went small and we competed; those guys showed a lot of heart. Gary played his heart out and Derrick and Stevie really competed.
“We didn't throw in the towel but this will sting for a while because we could have had it. We will see time and time again [in video review] that we didn't do things we were supposed to and they made us pay. We were right there.”
After a quiet first half, Payton erupted for 18 points and 13 rebounds in the second half to finish with 20 points, a career-high 17 rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and two steals. It was his eighth double-double of the season.
Thompson added 12 points, three rebounds and three steals. His lone 3-pointer was his 46th of the season, a school record for freshmen. Angelo Tsagarakis set the old mark of 45 in 2004. The Beavers were 9 of 16 overall from deep.
Cal started quickly and built a 17-5 lead with 13:36 remaining in the half before the Beavers began to battle back, led by Bruce. He scored all 15 of his first-half points in the final 12 minutes and OSU drew within 34-30 on a Thompsn stickback with two seconds remaining.
Bruce (15) and Thompson (7) combined for 22 of OSU's 30 first-half points. Thompson also had two steals.
The Beavers will learn their postseason destination on Sunday. The NCAA field will be revealed at 2:30 p.m. on CBS; a Selection Show Watch Party is scheduled for 2 p.m. until 4:30 in the Club at Reser Stadium.
Concessions and adult beverages will be available and the band, cheerleaders and Benny Beaver will be on hand, as will the entire team and coaching staff.
“Onward and upward … we have to stay in the moment,” Tinkle said, when asked about OSU's postseason destination. “Continue to prepare, chop wood, and keep building this thing.”
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