Men's Basketball Hosts Washington State
February 12, 1999
Corvallis, Ore. - THE SCHEDULE: Oregon State (11-10, 5-7 in Pac-10) hosts the Washington State Cougars (9-14, 3-9) Sat., Feb. 13 at 5:07 p.m. The game will be televised live by Fox Sports Northwest.
TENTATIVE STARTERS: OREGON STATE (11-10, 5-7 in Pac-10) F-11 Clifton Jones, 6-8, Jr., 5.5 pts, 6.8 reb C-40 Jason Heide, 6-10, 260, 10.4 pts, 5.3 reb G- 4 Deaundra Tanner, 6-2, So., 14.6 pts, 5.5 reb G-31 Ramunas Petraitis, 6-3, Jr., 7.0 pts, 3.7 reb G- 25 Josh Steinthal, 6-4, So., 11.1 pts, 2.5 rebSTREAKS: Oregon State is riding a three-game losing streak, its longest for the season. OSU won its first 10 home games of the season before suffering a 82-69 setback to Washington Thursday.WASHINGTON STATE (9-14, 3-9 in Pac-10/stats prior to UO) F-13 Kojo Mensah-Bonsu, 6-5, Sr., 13.5 pts, 6.5 reb F-44 Eddie Miller, 6-6, So., 11.2 pts, 5.3 reb G- 4 Jan-Michael Thomas, 5-11, Jr., 16.0 pts, 2.3 reb G- 5 Mike Bush, 6-5, Fr., 7.1 pts, 3.1 reb G-12 Kabandany Kazadi, 6-0, Sr., 3.8 pts, 1.9 reb
OSU VS. WASHINGTON STATE: In one of the stranger series in the conference, Washington State has won three straight and 10 of the last 11. Overall, Oregon State has a 149-108 lead, but in this decade its WSU with a 14-5 edge. In the last 11 meetings, only two games have been decided by five points or less, including the Cougars 84-79 win at Friel Court Jan. 16. In the earlier meeting Chris Crosby broke out of a shooting slump with 22 points, including 4 of 6 from three-point range. Eddie Miller added 20 points and eight rebounds. Clifton Jones scored his first career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Deaundra Tanner added 15.
"RUNNIN ON EMPTY:" Its getting to the point of the season when conditioning is becoming more and more of a factor. Entering this week, Oregon State point guard Deaundra Tanner is third in the league for minutes played per game at 36.0. Jason Terry of Arizona leads the league at 37.6 minutes per game, followed by Eddie House of Arizona State at 36.7. The top five is rounded out by Arizona States Bobby Lazor at 35.8 and Oregons A.D. Smith at 34.3.
RETURN TO SENDER: Oregon State is averaging 3.7 blocked shots per game. The school record for blocked shots in one game entering this season was nine, but the Beavers have eclipsed that mark twice this year with 10 vs. the College of Notre Dame and Oregon. Junior forward Clifton Jones tied a school record with six rejections vs. Oregon. Jones has 28 rejections for the season, which ties him for the 10th best mark in a single season with Chad Scott (1991). WHAT HAPPENED? The following is a look at statistics during Oregon States three-game losing streak:
OSU OPP Points Per Game 65.7 84.3 Rebounds Per Game 34.3 34.7 Assists Per Game 9.7 18.3 Turnovers Per Game 18.3 12.3 Field Goal Pct. .424 .511 3-Point Field Goal Pct. .276 .375DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB: Six double-doubles have been achieved this season by Oregon State players, two by Clifton Jones and Deaundra Tanner. Jones had two straight double-doubles - 20 points, 11 rebounds at Washington State/10 points, 12 rebounds vs. Arizona State. Tanner posted doubles-doubles vs. USC (27 pts, 12 reb) and vs. Washington (17 pts, 10 reb). Ramunas Petraitis scored a double-double vs. UC Irvine with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Jason Heide had a 15-point, 11-rebound performance at California.
IMPROVING TEAM: Oregon State continues to show improvement in numerous areas since the start of the conference season. Here is a look at some of the improving numbers:
Pre-Pac-10 Pac-10
Josh Steinthal 8.4 Pts pg 13.2 Pts pg
.318 FG Pct. .397 FG Pct.
Clifton Jones 3.7 Pts pg 6.9 Pts pg
4.6 Reb pg 8.4 Reb pg
.480 FG Pct. .660 FG Pct.
Adam Masten .360 FG Pct. .469 FG Pct.
2.9 Pts pg 4.1 Pts pg
Team .414 FG Pct. .440 FG Pct.
PAC-10 WINS: Its modest, but Oregon States five Pac-10 Conference wins is its most since the 1994-95 season. Since the six-win 95 season, OSU has gone 2-16, 3-15, and 3-15.THREE-POINT ACCURACY: Oregon State enters Saturdays game with a .332 (117-352) percentage for three-point shooting. If the season ended today, that would be the best percentage for a Beaver team since 1991-92 (.353). The school record was set in 1987-88 at .406 (97-239). Meanwhile, OSUs opponents have hit .300 from behind the arc, which would be a school record for futility.
INTERESTED FOLKS: For the first time since the 1992-93 season (twice), more than 10,000 fans have witnessed a game at Gill Coliseum more than once in a season. The Civil War was sold out (10,400) and 10,204 attended the OSU-Arizona game.
IRON, THATS ALL: Oregon State has held its opponents to a combined shooting percentage of .387 through 21 games, and as of games played through Feb. 7 is second in the Pac-10 Conference and tied for ninth in the nation with Navy. Northwestern is the national leader at .361, followed by Kansas State (.365), Syracuse (.368), Stanford (.373), SW Texas State (.374), Detroit Mercy (.374), Rice (.377), and Tulsa (.378).
CLEANING THE WINDOWS: Oregon State enters game 22 of the season with a rebounding margin of plus-1.6. Last season OSU finished the year on the plus side for rebounding (+1.6/35.7 pg) for the first time since the 1984-85 season. However, in Pac-10 games only the Beavers are minus-2.0.
IRON, THATS ALL II: As previously noted, Oregon State is among the nations best for field goal percentage defense. Here is a look at the shooting percentages at Gill Coliseum for OSUs Division I opponents during the actual game and what they are currently shooting for the season:
at OSU Season Idaho State .382 .415 UC Irvine .403 .433 Arkansas-Pine Bluff .266 .366 Chicago State* .370 .348 UCLA .284 .466 USC .383 .438 Arizona State .323 .442 Arizona .426 .473 Oregon .315 .445 Washington* .491 .490 *The only teams to shoot better in Gill than for the season.IRON, THATS ALL III: The good news is OSUs field goal percentage defense, the bad news is OSUs field goal percentage. The Beavers are at .429 for the season and for the first time since early in the year entered the week not in the basement of the conference - California was shooting .427 going into Thursdays game at Cal. The Beavers clawed themselves out of last place by converting .453 from the field over the last seven games, including .523 at UCLA and .519 vs. Arizona State.
ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER: Poor shooting leads to fewer points, and that is what OSUs opponents are finding this season. The Beavers are second in the Pac-10 for scoring defense, allowing 62.8 points per game.
ON THE OTHER HAND: In the "there are two sides to every story" category, Oregon State entered the week tenth in the Pac-10 for scoring at 63.7 points per game. Oddly, Stanford is ninth at 72.5 - meaning the top two teams for field goal percentage defense are the bottom two teams for scoring offense. BEAVERS PICKED 10TH: Media from around the West Coast have selected Oregon State 10th in the preseason Pac-10 media poll. Stanford received 36 of the possible 37 first place votes, followed by Arizona, Washington, UCLA, California (1 vote), Arizona State and Oregon tied for 6th; USC, Washington State, and Oregon State.
EDDIE PAYNE: Head Coach Eddie Payne is in his fourth year at Oregon State and has a record of 37-68. He now has an overall record of 196-176. Payne has previously been the Head Coach at Truett-McConnell Junior College in Cleveland, Georgia; Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., and at East Carolina University. His teams at Belmont Abbey posted a mark of 103-51 in five seasons; and in four seasons at ECU he was 70-72. Payne has also been an assistant coach at South Carolina, East Carolina and Clemson. His four-year institution season-by-season record follows: 1982 at B.A. (17-10); 1983 at B.A. (15-14); 1984 at B.A. (26-11); 1985 at B.A. (21-10); 1986 at B.A. (24-6); 1992 at ECU (10-18); 1993 at ECU (13-17); 1994 at ECU (15-12); 1995 at ECU (18-11); 1996 at OSU (6-21); 1997 at OSU (7-20); 1998 at OSU (13-17).
"I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU:" Beaver mens player Ramunas Petraitis and womens player Reda Kakernaite (Kah-KER-A-NAY-Tuh) are engaged. The two juniors plan to wait until their college careers are over before being married.
WALK THIS WAY: Head Coach Eddie Payne has added walk-ons Josiah Lake of Salem, Ore., Jeremiah Dodrill of Bandon, Ore., and Scott Peterson of Corvallis. Lake is a 61" junior guard, Dodrill is a 66" sophomore forward and Peterson is a 510" sophomore guard.
TANNER TALES: Sophomore guard Deaundra Tanner is a postseason honors candidate...he has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 11 games and 22 of the last 28 regular season games...he scored all 10 of OSUs points in overtime vs. USC, and overall hit 5 of 5 three-point field goals...named Pac-10 Player of the Week after OSUs upset wins over UCLA and USC, when he averaged 23.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists...one of two Beavers to start every game, and now has a streak of 35 starts...averaging 14 field goal attempts per game...matched his career-high of nine assists vs. Arizona...he tallied 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the exhibition game vs. Costa Rica, although unofficial, it was the first triple-double by a Beaver since Gary Payton Nov. 26, 1988...has played 30 or more minutes in 27 of the last 28 games, and is third in the Pac-10 for minutes played per game at 36.0...has led team in scoring in 12 of 21 games this season...had a career-high 27 points and matched his career-high with 12 rebounds vs. USC - also his first career double-double...scored 23 points vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, registered 22 vs. Tulsa and 21 vs. UC Irvine...has seven 20-plus scoring games for his career...averaging a team-high 14.6 points and 4.2 assists per game...also second for the team in rebounding at 5.5...entered the week ninth in the Pac-10 for scoring and seventh for assists...the only Beaver to average over 30 minutes per game this season...struggling from the field of late hitting 18 of 62 (.290) over the last four gameshas 117 three-point field goal attempts for the season, the eighth-highest mark in school history...has 37 converted threes, matching his mark last season and tied for 10th for a single season at OSU...has had more turnovers (18) than assists (15) over the last four games...member of the 1998 Pacific-10 Conference All-Freshmen Team.
BIG GEORGE: Junior center George von Backstrom is averaging 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds for the season...has hit 25 of 29 free throw attempts for a percentage of .862...scored a career-high 12 points vs. UC Irvine and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds vs. Idaho State...started 10 consecutive games, before being replaced by Jason Heide at UCLA...shooting .500 (25-50) for the season...although he has been a starter for a majority of the year, his playing time has generally decreased during the conference season.
WALKERS WAYS: Junior forward Iyan Walker is averaging 5.0 points and 3.1 rebounds for the season...struggling from the field in Pac-10 games, hitting just .371 (13-35)...he scored a career-high 14 points at California...tallied 13 points vs. UC Irvine and 12 against Alabama and the Coll. of Notre Dame...needs to improve on his consistency...blocked a career-high four shots vs. College of Notre Dame...he pulled down a career-best seven rebounds vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff...tied his career high with four steals vs. BYU-Hawaii...playing time has decreased of late.
JOSHS JABS: Sophomore guard Josh Steinthal is averaging 11.1 points for the season...averaging 13.6 points in conference games...for the season he is shooting .367 from the field...scored a career-high 20 points at Stanford and vs. USC...has scored in double figures 11 times this season...has struggled of late from beyond the arc, hitting just 9 of 41 (.220) in the last seven contests...has started the last 13 games...played a career-high 40 minutes vs. USC...had a career-high 19 field goal attempts vs. Washington.
HEIDES HYPE: Sophomore forward/center Jason Heide is third for the team for scoring (10.4) and rebounding (5.3)...scored a career-high 21 points at UCLAalso had a 20-point game vs. Chicago State...had his second career double-double when he scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds at California...also tallied 18 points to go with his nine rebounds vs. Colorado Statetied his career-high with three blocked shots vs. the College of Notre Dame...shooting .559 (85-152) from the field overall, including .617 (50-81) over the last 11 games...third in the Pac-10 for field goal percentage entering the week, trailing only Todd MacCulloch (.700) and Mark Madsen of Stanford (.616).
PETRAITIS PARTICULARS: Junior guard Ramunas Petraitis scored a double-double vs. UC Irvine (12 pts, 10 reb), and nearly achieved the same feat vs. UCLA (10 pts, 9 reb)...scored a career-high 17 points vs. Chicago State, and posted 15 vs. Arizona State...possibly the strongest and most physical player on the team...has hit 22 of 59 (.373) from three-point range...had a career-high seven assists vs. College of Notre Dame...has started every game this season...he and Tanner are the only players to start every game...offensive production has tailed off of late scoring just seven points on eight field goal attempts in the last three games.
CLIFF NOTES: Junior forward Clifton Jones is averaging 5.5 points and 6.8 rebounds for the season...also averaging 1.3 blocked shots, tied for fourth in the Pac-10 with USCs Jeff Trepagnier...rejected six shots vs. Oregon, matching a school record...scored his first career double-double when he had 20 points and 11 rebounds at Washington State, and followed with a 10-point, 12-rebound effort vs. Arizona State, and 13 points and eight rebounds vs. Arizona...has started eight of the last nine games...averaging a team-high 6.8 rebounds, including 8.4 in conference action...he will likely finish the season with the highest rebounding average at OSU since Mustapha Hoff averaged 7.5 in 1994-95...over the last seven games he has averaged 10.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and shot .721 (31-43) from the field...the best leaper on the team...has fouled out of three games...had nine rebounds at California...shooting just .355 (22-62) from the free throw line...hit a pair of clutch free throws vs. BYU-Hawaii...knack for keeping the ball alive...blocked three shots in three games.
OSU SINGLE SEASON BLOCKED SHOTS 7. Jose Ortiz (1986) 32 8. Steve Johnson (1980) 30 Will Brantley (1991) 30 10. Chad Scott (1991) 28 Clifton Jones (1999) 28SASAS STATS: Senior forward Sasa Petrovic is averaging 1.6 points...the most experienced player on the team with 84 games played...started the first four games, but has since seen his time dramatically decrease...missed the game at WSU with a mid-foot sprain.
ADAMS ANTICS: Freshman guard Adam Masten has played in every game, and started four...he is one of the most improved players on the roster since the beginning of the season...averaging 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds...started his first collegiate game vs. Chicago State and responded with six assists in 25 minutes...scored his collegiate career-high of 12 vs. Arizona State, hitting 3 of 4 from three-point range...had 11 points at Stanford, hitting 3 of 3 from three-point range...scored nine points vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff...hit a clutch free throw at the end of the OSU win over UCLA...matched his career-high with three steals vs. USC...knack for collecting loose balls.
LAKE EFFECTS: Junior walk-on guard Josiah Lake continues to get "spot" minutes for OSU...he has played in double figures for minutes four times...scored a career-high 10 points vs. Washington...had seven points at Washington State and vs. Chicago State...had five rebounds vs. the College of Notre Dame.
SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE: The Beavers received three national letters of intent during the week-long fall signing period, which ended Nov. 18. Brian Jackson and Mike Cokley, both of Knappa High School in Knappa, Ore., and Jimmy Haywood of Franklin High School in Seattle will join the club next fall. Jackson is a 610 forward who has a 21.2 career scoring average and is a member of the Orange County Registers "Fab 15." Cokley is a 510 guard who averaged 15 points, seven assists and five steals last season. Haywood is a 62" guard who averaged 14.5 points last season and is a member of the "Fab 15" second team. The Beavers have two scholarships to award, during the late signing period runs from April 7 to May 15.
