Seven OSU players score in double figures in team’s 38-point win 

The Oregon State men’s basketball team easily handled Corban Friday night at Gill Coliseum with a 96-58 win in an exhibition game before the team officially opens regular season play.

The lopsided score coupled with certain players on minute restrictions allowed Oregon State to go deep to the bench. A total of seven players scored in the double digits, highlighted by freshman guard JaQuori McLaughlin’s 17 points.

Having played in a private scrimmage last week, Friday night was McLaughlin’s first public exposure to college basketball.

“Being out there for the first time, there were a little jitters, but if you’re going hard, you’re really not thinking about being nervous,” McLaughlin said. “You just want to do the right thing and go hard for your team.”

Playing hard is a point of emphasis for head coach Wayne Tinkle, who didn’t know exactly how his team would handle playing an undermatched opponent. 

“You always worry about these games because you wonder about how serious your team is going to take the opponent, nerves, jitters–and with this group, especially with so many young guys and new guys, we were a little concerned,” said Wayne Tinkle said.

In the end, Tinkle’s worries proved unnecessary, aside from a few minor Corban runs.

“All in all, I really loved the intensity that this group came out with from the start,” said Tinkle. “We really set the tone. In the second half, we were a little too flat coming out, and we allowed them to get some confidence going, but we had a great out of the gate effort. We told the guys that this early, we don’t expect them to play their best 40 minutes yet, but we can make sure we’re playing our tails off.”

The Beavers’ first half of basketball showed similar attributes of effort, intensity, and defense as former Tinkle lead teams have embodied in the past, allowing only 21 points and 21 percent shooting from the field. Oregon State’s stellar play didn’t exactly transfer to the second half allowing the Warriors to more than double their shooting percentage. 

“We did a good job playing together especially in the first half,” said sophomore guard Stephen Thompson Jr. “We were really looking for each other and playing for each other out there. We just have to work on putting that together for a full game, for both halves and playing hard the whole time.”

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