Corvallis, OR – In their second meeting of this season Oregon State and California faced off for the 155 time. The Beavers won their last contest in November 71-63. Cal was coming off a Thursday 82-69 loss to Oregon and were seeking its first Pac-12 conference victory. The game was tied at 63-63 with just over three minutes to play. Then Oregon State would close out the game on a 10-1 run, holding the Bears without a field goal for the final 3:22 of the game to secure a 73-64 victory. The Beavers who are first in the Pac-12 in assists (17.14) finished the game with their team average 17.
6-5 senior guard Ethan Thompson was the game’s high scorer with 16 points (6-10 FG, 2-4 3FG, 2-4 FT), as he moved into 14th place in Oregon State’s scoring history with 1,336 career points. Thompson ranks nationally at #53 amongst fouls drawn at 6.8. With 2:30 remaining in the game he danced around the paint for position prior to scoring on a jump hook giving the Beavers a 65-63 final lead.
California started off well playing stingy defense holding the Beavers to 39 percent (9-of-23) shooting, while physically imposing its will offensively in the paint as they shot 65 percent (13-of-20) at the break. With 50 seconds remaining in the first half 6-3 guard Jarod Lucas, who leads the conference in free throw shooting (93.5%), an Oregon State drought of 4:01 without a field goal when he sank his third three-pointer of the half to keep the game close at 33-26. He would finish scoring nine of his 11 points in the half. He has a really quick release and bounce off the floor with nice shooting form. The Bears sophomore (Fresno State) transfer guard Jarred Hyder was perfect from the field at the half with eight points (3-3 FG, 1-1 3FG, 1-3 FT) to spark the Bears to a 36-26 lead at the break. He would finish with 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists. He’s a guard with some speed, quickness, and a pull up jumper. 7-0 sophomore Lars Thiemann also played well in the first half a contributing five points (2-2 FG, 1-3 FT) and five rebounds in addition to running the lanes well, setting screens, and competing physically in the interior.
California took its biggest loss of the game when 6-4 junior Guard Matt Bradley, currently the Pac-12 leading in scoring (19.4), left the game before halftime with an ankle injury. Per Kenpom.com he ranks #6 in the nation at 33.7% usage rate, #12 at 35.4% of their shots, and #96 in Fouls Drawn Per 40 at 6.2, so they would definitely miss his play in the second half.
California had its largest lead of the game 40-28 with 18:21 remaining as they looked to continue its strategy offensively with interior points. They began feeding 6-8 junior forward Andre Kelly the ball early in the half. Kelly would finish the game with 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-3 FT), four rebounds, and one assist. California was unable to secure their 12-point second half lead, despite leading for 31 minutes.
Oregon State’6-10 forward Maurice Calloo, who leads the Pac-12 Conference in 3-point shooting (56.3%) took over in the second half scoring all of his 14 points (5-9 FG, 3-6 3FG, 1-2 FT). He nailed his third three of the game with 40 seconds remaining to give the Beavers a 68-63 cushion to seal the victory. 6-8 junior forward Rodrigue Andela Played solidly all afternoon providing the physical toughness the Beavers needed inside on both ends of the floor. He finished with nine points (3-5 FG, 3-5 FT), 11 rebounds and one assist.
KEY GAME STATS
Free Throw Shooting: OSU 76 % (16-21) – Cal 50% (14-28)
Assists: OSU 17 – Cal 12
Fast Break Points: OSU 5 – Cal 0
Steals: OSU 8 – Cal 5
Points off turnovers: OSU 15 – Cal 11
Oregon State (5-3, 1-1) hosts Stanford (5-2, 1-1) on Monday at 12 pm while
California (5-6, 0-4) hosts Washington State (8-1, 1-1) at Haas Pavilion on January 7th at 7 pm.
This article was written by Lorenzo Leaks, a scout and correspondent for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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