Thursday night, The Oregon State Men’s Basketball defeated the University of Pepperdine 83-63 in only their second meeting in school history.
Despite winning the tip-off and scoring the game’s first point, the Waves found themselves trailing the remainder of the game against the now 15-6 Beavers.
The Beavers were looking for a boost after a disappointing loss against San Francisco last Saturday.
Star forward and team leader in shooting percentage at .634, Parsa Fallah, exited Saturday’s game early and is under concussion protocol. His return to the court is expected to be soon, but still unknown.
“Without Parsa (Fallah), we looked a little lost against San Francisco,” head coach Wayne Tinkle said. “I think our team really grew tonight for other guys having to step up.”
Fallah’s absence did not go unnoticed, as the Beavers struggled to stop the fastbreak and gave up 26 points in the paint, 12 of which came off the fastbreak.
The Waves kept it close in the first half, honing their defense and holding the Beavers to below 50% shooting.
To start the second half, the Waves’ momentum continued, catching the Beavs briefly off-guard.
However, on his 300th career assist, Damarco Minor sends a pass to redshirt junior Nate Kingz, who puts up his fourth three of the night. Beavers lead 47-38.
“My teammates have been really setting me up to get wide-open looks,” Kingz said.
Minor assisted three of Kingz’s four long-range jumpers.
Ten minutes into the second half, the Beavs tallied eight assists, surpassing the team total from the first half.
Nine of the Beavers’ 19 total assists came from Minor, who leads the team and is fifth in the West Coast Conference.
“I got to figure it out, I got to get this show on the road,” Minor said. “Coach gave me the keys and gave me high expectations, so I got to figure it out.”
French forward Maxim Logue laid the hammer down twice in the second half with a slam dunk alley-oop, both coming off an assist from Minor.
“I thought we had a huge lift off the bench for Maxim, especially in the second half,” Tinkle said. “We’ve said it from early on, ‘Guys, we can’t play all fourteen of you,’ keep a positive mindset because the season’s long,” Tinkle said.
Much of the Beaver’s offense in the second half came from outside the arc. The team knocked down seven threes and 11 total for the night.
The German native, Michael Rataj, scored 16 points in the second half and was a perfect 4-4 on three-pointers.
Kingz, Minor, and Rataj led the charge offensively tonight, all recording double-digit scores.
The Beavers look to continue their at-home winning streak, on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 3 p.m. in Gil Coliseum.
The University of Pepperdine, members of the Men’s Basketball team, and the city of Malibu, California are directly affected by the California wildfires. To assist those affected by the LA County fires, please visit this link for a list of ways to donate.
