Oregon State Men’s Basketball dropped their second consecutive game at the hands of the No. 24 Arizona Wildcats. The Beavers stalled an opportunity to improve their postseason chances by losing 89-63. 

Arizona’s defense was causing issues for the road team as the Beavers committed 13 first half turnovers compared to the Wildcats’ three. This helped the Wildcats go on a 12-2 run to open the game. The Wildcats were leading by double digits for most of the first half, but the Beavers pulled to within six at 26-20 following a three-point shot by OSU freshman guard Jarod Lucas. 

Arizona head coach Sean Miller said that the turnover disparity was a big reason why the Wildcats were able to build a big lead and eventually pull away. 

“Twenty one turnovers for them versus eight turnovers for us was a big, big deal,” Miller said via Tune In Radio. 

Oregon State was able to stay in the game in the opening half, even with their excessive amount of turnovers due to the efficient shooting displayed by Lucas. Lucas was 2-4 from three in the first half en route to a total of eight first half points coming off the bench. The Beavers trailed 30-40 at the half.

Lucas was not the only freshman making big time plays as Arizona freshman guard Josh Green had 18 points and six assists to lead the Wildcats. Arizona also got a big boost from grad transfer guard Max Hazzard who had 15 points off the bench with an array of difficult shots. 

“When Max gets going, he can binge make three point shots,” Miller said.

The Beavers scored the first two points of the second half to bring themselves within single digits but the Wildcats dominated the rest of the latter half. With 7:00 minutes remaining, the Wildcats lead had swelled to 70-49. 

Oregon State took a blow when senior forward Tres Tinkle was ejected with 13:17 remaining in the game. OSU head coach Wayne Tinkle was not pleased with the way the game was officiated. 

“It just seemed lopsided on what kind of physicality you could get away with,” Wayne Tinkle said to the Gazette Times.

Tres Tinkle received two separate technical fouls leading to his ejection. He leads the Beavers and is third in the PAC-12 in scoring at an average of 18.4 points per game. Tinkle finished the game with 10 points.

The Wildcats never looked back following Tinkle’s ejection as the final score ended up being their largest lead of the night. 

With the win, OSU drops to 15-11 overall and 5-9 in PAC-12 play. Arizona goes to 19-7 overall and 9-4 in conference. The Wildcats gear up for No. 14 Oregon on Saturday, Feb. 22, following the Arizona State Sun Devils’ upset over the Ducks on Feb. 20. 

The Beavers head to Desert Financial Arena to face Arizona State on Feb. 22 and tip off is scheduled for 5 p.m.