After suffering their first loss of the season, OSU will try and get back on track on Wednesday

There are plenty of storylines with the Oregon State men’s basketball team — home games this week on Wednesday against Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. and Saturday against Nevada, players returning from injuries, a McDonald’s habit and an upcoming game with Kansas on Dec. 12.

OSU started the year 4-0 before heading into the Thanksgiving break with a 63-57 loss to Valparaiso last Tuesday. Now the Beavers have a chance to respond Wednesday against Loyola Marymount in Gill Coliseum.

“It’s another home game, we’ve just got to bounce back and not lose two in a row here,” said senior guard Gary Payton II.

“We’ve got to learn from that and bring toughness from the get-go,” said senior forward Daniel Gomis. “Last time we kind of came in flat.”

Loyola Marymount is 4-2 this year without any games in common with OSU. The Lions beat Cal State Fullerton 79-74 and OSU will play CSF on Dec. 18 in Portland’s Moda Center in the Far West Classic.

Injuries

Gomis and senior forwards Jarmal Reid are close to returning from their respective injuries to play for the first time this year. Reid is easing back into practice after sustaining a stress fracture in his foot, while Gomis broke his hand in a preseason practice.

“If it was up to me, I would definitely play (Wednesday), but the doctors are the one to look it up,” Gomis said. “Hopefully they’ll give me some positive feedback.”

Gomis added that his hand is not yet “that solid,” but he has an appointment Wednesday before the game to be reevaluated. The 6-foot-10 forward had 41 blocks last year, the tenth-most in OSU single-season history.

Diagnosing the Valparaiso game

Head coach Wayne Tinkle talked candidly on Monday about where his team was “deficient” against the Crusaders. Valparaiso was ahead for more than 35 minutes of the game and led by as much as 17 points.

“Our offense was very disappointing,” Tinkle said. “We didn’t run it with any purpose. It didn’t even look like we were running an offense because we were so lackadaisical in our execution — our cuts, our screens, our spacing and timing.”

The Beavers shot 37.5 percent from the floor and no player had more than two assists. Other than Payton II’s 25 points and 11 rebounds, no player had more than nine points or seven rebounds.

Tinkle also focused on OSU’s transition defense, which was caught out of position at times against the up-tempo, fast-break loving Crusaders.

“We gave up probably three or four dunks or shots right at the rim off of transition (defense) because we didn’t communicate who had the ball, who was stopping the ball and who was stopping who,” Tinkle said. “Really, those things come down to our focus and effort, which was been a little inconsistent here early in the season. But the practices (since then) have been really good.”

McDonald’s in the Morning

Payton II walked into practice Monday with his breakfast still in hand from McDonald’s. Though basketball players are provided breakfast at the Valley Football Center every morning, Payton II said he sleeps in and heads to the golden arches just about “every morning.”

He typically orders an Egg McMuffin or McGriddle. Or, if he wants to branch out a bit, both.

How much money has he spent at McDonald’s since he came to OSU last year?

“A lot,” he said. “Probably $1,500.”

On Twitter @BrightTies