Beaver Basketball Defeated by WSU in Pullman
In this story:
The Beaver men's basketball team capped off a tough road trip on Sunday night with an 81-67 loss to the WSU Cougars on the Palouse. It was the Beavers' second straight loss by double digits, after being routed by Pacific on Friday night.
Wayne Tinkle's side got off to a terrible start, allowing a bucket on their first four defensive possessions and falling behind 9-0 just two minutes in.
Unlike their loss to the Tigers two nights ago, Oregon State showed fight in this one and was able to climb back into the game after a bad start. After an Eemeli Yalaho layup gave the Cougars a 14-4 lead, Oregon State found a spark. Dez White got hot from beyond the arc with threes on back-to-back possessions, and the Beavers went on an 8-0 run. It was 14-12 with 15 minutes left in the half.
From there on out, things mostly went downhill for the visiting side. Washington State took advantage of lackadaisical Oregon State perimeter defending, and buried shots from deep. With 3:37 remaining in the first half, Rihards Vavers hit an NBA-range triple that gave the Cougars an 11-point lead. WSU extended their lead out to 47-33 at the half.
MORE: New Year, Same Beavers: Pacific Routs Oregon State Men 84-53
In the second half, OSU was able to keep it close for a while and had some bright spots. After falling behind by 20 at one point, the Beavs were finally able to find some offensive rhythm. As part of an 8-0 run, Isaiah Sy hit an open triple with 9:05 left. On the following possession, Yaak Yaak came away with a steal and dunked it to cut the lead to 11, at 66-55.
Oregon State never got it any closer than this, however, and Washington State had little to worry about in the final minutes and picked up a 14-point win.
As has too often been the case this season, OSU was dominated on the glass. Washington State finished with 14 offensive rebounds compared to the Beavers' six. Freshman Olavi Suutela, who played just 21 minutes, led the team in rebounds with five.
Dez White had a good offensive night for Oregon State, keeping the Beavers in it with a 16-point performance, shooting 4-6 from deep. Freshman Matija Samar also had some productive moments, finishing with three triples and four assists.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
Ben Pahl is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in Portland, Oregon. His work covering college and professional sports has been featured by the Orange Media Network at Oregon State University as well as KBVR.fm. His other career stops in sports include the Portland Pickles baseball club and the NBA G-League's Rip City Remix.