Corvallis, OR – The Oregon State Beavers squared off against the No. 16- ranked Colorado Buffaloes in a Pac-12 showdown at Gill Coliseum Saturday night in front of 4,953 fans. The Beavers were looking for a season sweep, but the Buffaloes’ Tyler Bey had other plans. Bey was dominant on both ends of the floor scoring 21 points on 6-of-10 from the field and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead Colorado to an easy 69-47 victory. This win gives Colorado a half game lead in the standings over Oregon with five games remaining in conference play.
Colorado jumped out to an early advantage behind the shooting of Shane Gatling who was perfect from the field in the first half. Gatling completed a 12-4 scoring run with a deep three pointer to give the Buffaloes a 24-16 lead with 5:38 remaining in the half. The senior shooting guard shot 3-for-3 from the field including hitting two three pointers. He would not score again, as he ended the night with eight points in 21 minutes of play.
The 31-22 halftime lead for Colorado was headed by Bey who had a monster game. His athleticism and quick leaping ability was on display and showed why he is an award finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. The projected second round pick in the 2020 NBA draft asserted himself on the offensive end after struggling Thursday night against Oregon. The Buffaloes posted him up often, as he had the ability to square up and rise above his defender to hit multiple jump shots. In addition, he got to the free throw line by drawing fouls when making strong moves towards the hoop. He connected on an efficient 9-of-13 free throws.
Five minutes into the second half, the Beavers tried to get back in the game behind their veterans Tres Tinkle and Ethan Thompson. Tinkle had an opportunity to complete a three point play after pulling down an offensive rebound and getting fouled while making the put back. He missed his free throw attempt. On the next possession, Thompson, penetrated to his right, got into the paint, and went up to make a thunderous dunk while drawing the foul. He completed the three point play to pull the Beavers back within nine points at 41-32 with 14:48 remaining. However, that was the closest Oregon State would get.
Oregon State’s duo, Tinkle and Thompson, both had off nights in shooting. Thompson had a team high 17 points, but took 17 shots (7-for-17 FG). He also collected five rebounds and dished out four assists. Tinkle was held to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting from the field. He did have a team high 13 rebounds and three steals.
The Buffaloes went on a 12-2 run over a five minute stretch, capped off with an emphatic dunk by guard Eli Parquet who cut backdoor receiving a precision pass from McKinley Wright IV. This put the game out of reach at 53-34 with less than ten minutes remaining. Wright IV, had a bounce back game. The savvy point guard recorded 13 points (5-of-12 FG), ten rebounds, and six assists. It was the fifth double-double this season for the 6-0, 196 pound junior.
Colorado’s defense was the headline of the night. Their No. 2-ranked scoring defense in the Pac-12 (62.8 PPG) did not allow anything easy for the Beavers. Oregon State shot 33 percent from the field and hit 1-of-17 shots (6 percent) from beyond the arc. The Beavers only shot 47 percent from the free throw line (8-for-17). Their 47 points were their lowest scoring output this season as they previously scored 49 I n the road in a loss to Texas A & M. In addition, the Beavers bench was outscored 22-6.
Oregon State (15-10, 5-8) will head to the desert to challenge Arizona (14-10, 5-7) on February 20th. While Colorado (20-6, 9-4) will host USC (19-7, 8-5) to continue their progress for an NCAA tournament bid.
This article was written by Chad Mart, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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