The Oregon State Beavers Men’s Basketball team managed to hold off the Utah Utes to bring a 92-85 victory home to Gill Coliseum on Thursday night.
“I know the progress has not shown in the win-loss record, but our guys are getting better. I’m really proud they way they came out and got one for us here,” head coach Wayne Tinkle said.
Utah had won the last four matchups with the Beavers, but that streak was broken today. It was a game that Oregon State seemed to have fairly handled when they ended the first half with a 13 point lead. However, the Utes never fully cracked to the pressure of the away crowd.
By the end of the game Utah was laying on the pressure with back to back scoring drives and full court defense that forced the Beavers into multiple turnovers.
Oregon State never let the fourth quarter lead drop below five, thanks to how many times Utah sent them to the free throw line. They made 31 of 37 free throws while Utah only scored 9 of 25.
The difference in shooting percentage was also made up for by the Utah second half efforts. In the first Oregon State shot 61.5% to their 51.9%. By the end of the game the Beavers ended with a total of 51% while Utah ended with 52%.
The only large advantage the Utes had was points in the paint. They scored 46 to the Beavers 28.
Utah stayed as close as they did thanks to a spectacular performance by fifth-year Branden Carlson, scoring 40 points to lead all scorers. Senior Devion Smith also kept the ball moving by contributing 10 of Utah’s 22 assists.
The three lead changes in the game happened in the early part of the first half. Oregon State then took the lead for the rest of the game. This was largely due to sophomore Jordan Pope who led the Beavers with 25 points, and sophomore Tyler Bilodeau who scored five of the Beavers’ nine made three pointers.
“It’s something I work on, trying to play inside and out. Tonight they were falling, great passes from the guys,” said Bilodeau.
The Beaver bench was once again in full swing, scoring 23 bench points to Utah’s four, headlined by freshman Josiah Lake ll and sophomore KC Ibekwe.
The problem for the Beavers in this game was mainly turnovers. Pressure from the defense had them making mistakes that made them seem unprepared for their upcoming tournament game on March 13. However, Tinkle is not worried about his team.
“We had some guys who were banged up, and so we gave them some time off. Guys that were fresh got in and got some work in on their own,” Tinkle said. “I just think we need to keep coaching them, and they need to keep taking it like they have.”
Oregon State’s next matchup will be their final regular season game as well as senior night, against the Colorado Buffaloes, in Gill Coliseum on March 9 at 2 p.m.