Beavers Fall to Sam Houston State As Winning Streak Ends
In this story:
The Oregon State men's basketball team saw a comeback bid fall short on Wednesday night in an 85-75 home loss to Sam Houston State.
Wayne Tinkle's side got off to a slow start, falling behind 10-3 in the early going. But the Beavers were able to respond, and they cut the deficit to one after a Dez White three-pointer with three minutes remaining in the first half.
MORE: State of the Beavs: An In-Depth Look at JaMarcus Shephard's Staff
In the final moments of the first half, however, the Bearkats were able to gain separation. SHSU hit two triples in the last ninety seconds of the half to go along with stops on the defensive end, and they pulled out to a 46-37 lead going into the locker room.
The Beavers came out of the break flat, with SHSU dominating on the boards and down low. The Bearkats extended their lead out to 16 after a Domon Nichols jr. layup. From there, Oregon State regrouped after a timeout and were able to chip away over the next five minutes, going on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to seven.
The comeback momentum was not able to maintain steam though, as a Kashie Natt three with five minutes remaining extended the advantage back to double digits. Tinkle's squad was never able to make another big push, and Sam Houston got out of Corvallis with their seventh win of the year.
MORE: Mitch Dahlen Brings Strong QB Development Track Record to Oregon State
Oregon State was absolutely dominated on the boards, getting outrebounded 46-26. Senior forward Veljko Ilic caused problems for the Beavers all night, putting up a double-double of 15 points and twleve boards. Guard Kashie Natt led the Bearkats in scoring with 19, and shot a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc. Overall, five players scored in double figures for SHSU.
Josiah Lake led the way for Oregon State, putting up 19 points and four assists on 6-8 shooting from the floor. Keziah Ekissi had a strong showing on Wednesday night, giving the Beavers a boost by scoring 13 points off the bench. Notably, nobody had more than five rebounds for Oregon State.
With the loss, Oregon State falls to 6-6 on the season. Next up, they head to Tempe to take on Arizona State on Sunday, December 21. Tipoff is scheduled for Noon PT on ESPN2.
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.