Thursday night in Gill Coliseum, the Oregon State Beavers secured a 71-59 victory over the UC Davis Aggies in the second half, snapping a three-game losing streak.
The Beavers allowed a 15-3 run to end the first half, and head coach Wayne Tinkle responded by telling his players some encouraging words while in the locker room.
“I didn’t like the fact that we gave them the momentum headed into halftime, and we just said ‘Guys enough we have learned enough lessons, we’ve got to be ready for a rock fight every timeout,’” Tinkle said.
The Beavers saw themselves fall into a hole early into the second half, trailing 37-30 before surging back into the game, going on a 14-0 scoring run.
This run would prove to be crucial, as the Beavers took the lead for the first time since late in the first half, and never gave it up after that.
Oregon State came into the game facing a UC Davis team with the sixth-highest scorer in men’s college basketball with 22.8 points per game, Elijah Pepper.
The Beavers held him to only two points in the first half and nine in the game. Pepper finished the night shooting 2-13 from the field.
“Usually we don’t change rules for individuals, but we told Dexter and anybody else that had him to stay glued to him the whole night, don’t worry about helping, don’t give him any space cause when he has space he is really good,” Tinkle said.
“We gave him space a couple times in the second half and he hits a three and then draws three free throws. So credit to Dexter, and the other guys that guarded him in the first half.”
Chol Marial led the team in points posting a slick double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, both stats were career highs for the senior out of South Sudan.
The Aggies were even across the board scoring-wise, with five players scoring between eight and 11 points. Kane Milling had 11, leading the way for the Aggies on the night.
Oregon State snapped a three-game losing streak, a streak in which they lost by an average of 21 points.
The 3-3 Aggies head to Reno, Nevada to take on the Nevada Wolf Pack next Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.
The Beavers, who now sit above .500 with a 4-3 record, don’t leave town until next year and will play Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at Gill Coliseum.
