With the Oregon State Women’s Basketball team currently on pause due to COVID-19 concerns within the program, the Beavers Men’s team took full control of the basketball spotlight, and made the most of it.

Two games played on Feb. 4 and Feb. 6 against the PAC-12 Washington schools resulted in two wins, improving the Beavers’ record to 10-7 and sparking a two game winning streak heading into the upcoming week.

Men’s Basketball snaps losing streak against Washington 

The Oregon State Men’s Basketball team got their ninth win of the season, defeating the Washington Huskies on Feb. 4, by a score of 91-71, Oregon State’s most one-sided win of the PAC-12 schedule.

This win comes after the Beavers had lost their last two games against the University of Southern California Trojans and the UCLA Bruins in a two-game road trip to Los Angeles. Coming back to Gill Coliseum, Oregon State was able to bounce back, starting with their 20-point win against the Huskies.

In a game where the Beavers controlled the lead for 39:05, it’s no surprise that both sides of the ball, offensive and defensive, played a huge role in the victory over the Huskies. 

Sophomore guard Jarod Lucas was on fire throughout the game, making a career high five 3-point field goals, and scoring 19 points in the game. Senior guard Zach Reichle followed close behind Lucas, and set several records of his own. Reichle scored a career high of 17 points, and had a career high of eight assists against the Huskies. Overall, Oregon State had 25 assists on 32 baskets. 

Defensively, junior forward Warith Alatishe, who scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds, had 3 blocks on the night, keeping the Huskies contained. The Beavers had 11 steals on the night as well, with Alatishe, Reichle, and senior guard Ethan Thompson each recording three, and senior center Roman Silva adding two. 

The Beavers defense held the Huskies down to a low-efficiency performance. As a team, Washington was 23-51 from field goals, and had a total of 14 turnovers, resulting in 20 points for Oregon State. The win got Oregon State out of the losing stretch– and brought momentum to the program heading into their meeting against the Washington State Cougars.

Men’s Basketball continues winning streak against Washington State 

Continuing their winning streak, the Oregon State Beavers got their tenth win of the season, as they faced off against the Washington State Cougars, and won by a slim score of 68-66. 

The Beavers started off slow, shooting 10-20 from the field and 4-7 from three-point field goals. In the second half , the Beavers were 10-23 from the field and with one made three-point shot on six attempts.. In total, the Beavers were 20-43 from the field and 5-13 from three-point field goals. 

Although the shooting may not have been in tune, the Beavers were, however, 23-32 from three throws (74.2%). It was these free throws that propelled Oregon State to the win. 

Sophomore guard Jarod Lucas and senior Guard Ethan Thompson both scored 12 points for the Beavers. Lucas was 4-7 from the field, 1-3 on three-point field goals, and 3-4 from field goals. Thompson was 3-10 from the field, 0-3 on three-point field goals, and 6-7 on free throws. 

Thompson, who scored all of his 12 points in the final 8:37 of the game, moved up to 10th place in career points at Oregon State, passing Dave Gambee, who scored 1,468 points from 1955-58. 

The Beavers will be traveling east as they head to Boulder, Colorado, as they will face off against the Colorado University Buffaloes on Feb. 8. They will not be returning back to Gill Coliseum until Feb.18, where they will face off against the Utah Utes.