Beavers men’s basketball’s international stars lift the team to a 90-57 victory over the University of California Davis at Gill Coliseum on Saturday, Nov. 30.
“I think the team is coming together really well,” The freshman forward from Denmark, Johan Munch, said. “Having a lot of different nationalities makes the bond between us even stronger.”
The program has 10 international players, with their homes in Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Lithuania, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Along with an expanded international roster, the team features nine newcomers this season.
“We’ve upgraded the talent level, the maturity, the depth, yet we’re staying mindful that there’s gonna be some hurdles along the way,” head coach Wayne Tinkle said.
Iranian transfer student Parsa Fallah secured the first bucket of the game off a second-chance layup and an assist from senior guard Damarco Minor.
Fallah stayed perfect in the first half, going 6-for-6 on the court and 2-for-2 for free throws.
He finished the game as the night’s leading scorer with 25 points and shooting 78 percent.
The Beavers made their mark early in the game, maintaining a steady eight-point lead or higher four minutes into the game.
Their lead eventually grew to 13 by halftime. Sophomore Josiah Lake collected an offensive rebound and passed the ball to junior Nate Kingz with two seconds, his jumper ending the half 44-31 Beavers.
Beaver basketball’s last game ended in a one-possession loss against North Texas. They led the University of Oregon by 10 points in the first half before losing in the game’s final minutes.
“Those are some of the things a new team with so many new guys you only experience it if you go through it,” Tinkle said. “Shame on us for the lack of execution, but this is a long season, so I thought tonight was huge.”
OSU’s leading scorer, German native Michael Rataj, showed up in the second half, tallying 16 points and nine rebounds.
Sophomore Isaiah Lake II threw down a dunk to hammer the final nail in the coffin off a fastbreak steal with two minutes left in the game.
Having led the entire game, OSU basketball snapped their two-game losing streak, improving to 5-2.
“That’s a very good team. (UC Davis) didn’t have a very good second half, but coach Les does a great job instilling toughness and discipline,” Tinkle said. “Our guys came out after a pretty solid first half and then put the pedal to the metal in the second half.”
Beaver basketball will look to bounce off their win at home with a game against Idaho State on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. at Gill Coliseum.
