Payton II scores 20, Oregon State beats Cal 77-71

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said that depth is one of the strengths of his team, and on Saturday, 10 players scored for the Beavers.

''One guy after the other kept making plays for us, and that's what really gets you to feel good about what we're doing,'' he added.

Gary Payton II had 20 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and four steals as Oregon State hung on to beat California 77-71 on Saturday night.

Tres Tinkle, the coach's son, scored 15 points and Stephen Thompson Jr. added 11 points for the Beavers (11-3, 2-1 Pac-12), who broke a five-game losing streak to Cal.

Oregon State's bench outscored Cal's 42-8. The Beavers also forced 16 turnovers, and only had eight themselves.

Wayne Tinkle liked how his squad withstood a frantic comeback by the Golden Bears.

''I was proud of our guys for hanging in there and showing some grit and toughness when we could have folded,'' he said.

Jaylen Brown had 20 points and seven rebounds, Tyrone Wallace added 17 points and Jordan Mathews had 16 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Golden Bears (12-5, 2-2).

''I thought we did a poor job playing as a team in the first half, on both sides of the ball,'' said Cal coach Cuonzo Martin.

Oregon State led 14-8 after a 10-0 run, capped by a Tinkle 3-pointer with 14:11 left in the half.

Payton missed a floater but tipped in the rebound at the buzzer to give Oregon State a 38-27 lead at the half.

Cal crept back in the game thanks to a 12-3 surge, and a Mathews 3-pointer with 12:07 left made the score 48-46. The Golden Bears forced three turnovers during the run.

Oregon State responded by scoring the next six points of the game, which included a Payton steal and breakaway dunk.

Mathews hit a 3-pointer with 1:49 left to make the score 71-68. Tinkle responded for the Beavers with a rainbow jumper from the corner, behind the basket. Mathews hit another three with 1:01 remaining and the Golden Bears trailed 73-71.

With 30 seconds left, however, Payton made a jumper, was fouled, and sunk the free throw, putting Oregon State up 76-71.

Mathews missed his first 3-pointer with 16 seconds left, Payton got the rebound and made one of two free throws. Wallace missed a 3-pointer for Cal to close the action.

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TIP INS

Cal: The Golden Bears entered the game leading the Pac-12 in field goal percentage defense at 37.2 percent, but the Beavers shot 42.9 percent. . Before Saturday, freshman Ivan Rabb was shooting 64.5 percent from the floor. No Cal player has shot about 60 percent for a full season since Solomon Hughes in 2000-01. Rabb had 10 points and 10 rebounds on 2-of-4 shooting Saturday.

Oregon State: Payton is averaging 5.2 assists this season, up from 3.2 assists per game last year. . Oregon State's record is its best since the 1989-90 team, anchored by Payton's father Gary Payton, started 12-2.

O BOARDS

The Beavers were dominated on the offensive glass by Stanford on Wednesday, but Oregon State hit the boards hard on Saturday, with 15 offensive rebounds, compared to seven for Cal. Payton had five.

PAYTON PRAISE

Martin was full of praise for Payton. ''He's a good all-around player. He does a lot of things. He can shoot the ball. He rarely takes bad shots. He seems like a very selfless basketball player. He gets the steals, he gets rebounds, he's all over the place,'' Martin said.

UP NEXT

Cal plays at Stanford on Thursday.

Oregon State plays at Colorado on Wednesday.