Huskies Crumble in Corvallis, Get Throttled by Oregon State

Mike Hopkins said his team needed to be like Rocky Balboa.

Take a blow and get off the mat.

He didn't say which sequel.

At Corvallis, Oregon, the University of Washington basketball coach watched the old and tired version show up.

The Huskies got pounded pretty good and after a while could no longer stay on their feet, losing 91-71 to Oregon State on Thursday night at Gill Coliseum.

Hopkins' team (3-13 overall, 2-9 Pac-12) fell down by 15 points just six minutes into the action, gamely battled back to trail by 3 late in the opening half and trailed the Beavers (9-7, 5-5) by 12 at intermission.

There would be no Rocky heroics in the Willamette Valley.

Just an Apollo Creed demise.

A clear knockout.

Besides dropping this road game, the Huskies temporarily lost the services of starting guard Erik Stevenson to a right leg injury early in the second half. However, he was able to return, limping yet playing.

In a sorry season that hasn't exhibited much of a basketball heartbeat, Hopkins started 6-foot-9 forward J'Raan Brooks for the first time The USC transfer and Seattle native replaced Hameir Wright, who has been dealing with a thumb injury.

Yet once the UW trailed 11-2 in the opening minutes, Brooks, the USC transfer and Seattle native, was firmly seated and Wright played, bad hinge and all.

The only real encouraging thing about this one was reserve guard Marcus Tsohonis who came off the bench and, as he has done over and over this season, provided some energy, points and a momentary boost.

The Portland product, back in his home state, supplied 12 first-half points on sorts of creative shots and was the catalyst for the early comeback.

Tsohonis came up with his third 20-point game of the season, finishing with 22 against the Beavers. He connected on 8 of 13 shots from the floor, playing just half the game.

"Obviously, our spirits are kind of down," he said. "We know we have to look forward to the next game."

Once more, the UW got eaten alive inside.

Same as against WSU this past weekend, the Huskies ran into an overly athletic big man who gave the them all sorts of troubles down low.

"We're breaking down and we're getting into early foul trouble," Hopkins said. "Teams are going down to the post and not getting any resistence."

In this case, it was Oregon State's 6-7 Warith Alatishe, a transfer from Nicholls State in Louisiana and one of the nation's leading rebounders.

A guy with a lot of bounce, he wowed everyone by swatting away a shot by the Huskies' 7-4 Riley Sorn in the opening half.

Alatishe finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Oregon State's Roman Silva, a 7-1 senior center, took advantage of the mismatches inside and provided a career-high 14 points.

Guard Jarod Lucas topped the winners with 19 points, most coming from the outside.

If there was a minor victory, the Huskies won the rebound battle for just the fourth time this season in 16 games, finishing with a 33-30 edge. Sorn topped his team with 6.

The UW, without a victory away from home, will try again at Oregon on Saturday in Eugene.

"We can't come out there lackadaisical," Tsohonis said. "It's hard to come back."

Time for Hopkins' punch-drunk outfit to get off the mat once more.

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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