Over the last four years, Oregon State’s men’s basketball team has experienced well-documented problems with away games.
At Pacific on Saturday night, the Beavers figured out a way to win: get off to a quick start and never give the opposition a chance.
The Beavers’ third road victory since the 2021–22 season came when Oregon State crushed the Tigers 91–55. In the latter thirty-five minutes of the game in Stockton, California, OSU (13-5, 3-2 WCC) never had an advantage of less than ten points.
The Beavers defeated Washington 106-66 in Seattle in 1989, and the 36-point victory margin remains the most for an Oregon State away game since then. Prior to Saturday, the biggest road victory in Wayne Tinkle’s 11-year stint at OSU was a 25-point victory against Washington State in 2018.
With 25 points, Parsa Fallah tied a season best. The 6-foot-9 forward made 13 of 14 free throws and 6 of 7 attempts on Saturday, his 22nd birthday. The Beavers had 20 points from Nate Kingz, 15 from Michael Rataj, and 15 from Liutauras Lelevicius.
The Beavers sank 31 of 32 foul shots, setting a school record for free throw percentage in a single game at.968. The team’s only miss was Fallah’s. Lelevicius made eight of eight free throws.
Oregon State shot 57% overall and made eight three-pointers. Pacific was outnumbered by the Beavers 36-19.
Lamar Washington, a former student at Portland’s Jefferson High, led Pacific (6-14, 1-5) with 13 points. After defeating Washington State on Thursday to snap a 20-game losing streak in the West Coast Conference, the Tigers were looking to gain momentum.
WCC powerhouse Gonzaga will visit Corvallis to play OSU at Gill Coliseum on Thursday at 8 p.m., and Oregon State’s victory served as a prelude to one of the most anticipated home games in a long time.
After a scorching shooting start to the game, Oregon State led 45-30 at the half. The Beavers immediately established a 21-9 lead by making nine of nine free throws and two of their first five shots from three-point range.
Despite cooling off a bit, the Beavers kept increasing their lead, which reached 21 points. Pacific scored the last six points in the first half to cut the deficit to 15 at the half. OSU made 16 of 17 foul shots in the first 20 minutes, living at the free throw line.
When OSU took the floor to begin the second half, any momentum the Tigers had built up toward the end of the first half vanished. The Beavers began the second half with a 17-2 run as Lelevicius and Kingz made three-pointers on their first two offensive possessions. With 17 minutes remaining in the game, the Beavers had a 62-32 lead.
In the second half, Oregon State had a 39-point lead.
The contact information for Nick Daschel is 360-607-4824, [email protected], or @nickdaschel.
Your support is essential to our journalism. Sign up for OregonLive.com now.
Latest Beavers news
-
Tight end T Andre Waverly commits to Oregon State at Navy All-American Bowl
-
Oregon State mailbag: Assistant coach MVP, more transfer portal moves, what s with the love of Beavers?
-
Santa Clara s last-second overtime tip-in hands Oregon State men a heartbreaking defeat
