The Oregon State Beavers men’s basketball team opened their 2024 season with an 80-57 win over the Utah Tech Trailblazers at Gill Coliseum on Monday night.
This victory marked the 11th straight season-opening win under head coach Wayne Tinkle, and it brought him within one more win to reach 300 victories in his head coaching career.
The Oregon State starters performed in the first half, which showed why they earned their minutes, with the two big men down low, elevating them early. Juniors Michael Rataj and Parsa Fallah were the game’s first Beavers on the board. Both of them scoring from the paint.
By the end of the first half the Beavers had almost doubled the Trailblazers points scored in the paint. They were scoring 26, while Utah Tech only acquired 14.
Fallah would continue his momentum and continue scoring from under the basket. He led the Beavers with 10 points and an 83% field goal percentage.
OSU’s own Josiah Lake II is the only other player to match Fallah in plus-minus at 11 before halftime. The sophomore has made many meaningful appearances off the bench in the previous season and showed he was here to continue his reliable contributions. He was highlighted by a steal leading to a coast-to-coast layup to finish the textbook play.
“There is no limit for us as a team and me as a player. So we can get better every day; that’s what we’ve been doing for the last four months,” said Fallah
By the end of regulation, Fallah and Lake were the game leaders. Fallah with 11 rebounds, and Lake with four assists.
Despite Oregon State going on a 12-2 run in the half, Utah Tech managed to keep the score within manageable limits keeping their deficit within seven points.
“Great win against a great team, give them credit. They did not back down and they weren’t scared,” said Tinkle.
They accomplished this thanks to their ability to draw fouls and convert free throws, hitting 7 for 11 and drawing 11 fouls from OSU.
Both teams also struggled in the first at the three-point line; both teams took double-digit attempts but could only convert two each.
The beginning of the second half showed a new burst of energy; Utah Tech would go on a run to bring the game to a one to two-point separation in the final 15 minutes, highlighted by three made shots from beyond the arc.
The elevated competition would only make the Beavers rise to the occasion. Thanks to the defensive efforts, they would build a comfortable lead again within the final 10 minutes of play, going on an eight-point run and holding the Trailblazers to zero points scored for over five minutes.
The Beavers would end with five blocks to Utah Tech’s zero and eight steals to their four.
Despite being third in scoring at halftime, senior Damarco Minor was the highlight of the Beavers’ late-game scoring efforts. Emerging as the lead scorer in the game and sinking back-to-back three-point attempts in the final five minutes, Minor passed 1,000 points in his college career while extending the Beavers lead to above 20.
The considerable lead also allowed freshman players like Maxim Logue and Johan Munch to play valuable time and display highlight dunks in the game’s final minute.
The Beavers look to continue to impress early in their next matchup at home at Gill Coliseum at 7 p.m. this Friday against Weber State.