After playing a solid first half, Oregon State falters down the stretch

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Corvallis Gazette-Times

SEATTLE — With one gloomy trip through the Pacific-10 Conference complete, a second one doesn’t look much better.

The Oregon State men’s basketball team experienced all of what the Pac-10 has to offer, and saw why many consider it the best conference in the country.

Seasoned point guards defeat the Beavers when they match up well physically, and rookies are just too athletic when they have the experience advantage.

The 91-74 loss to Washington before a crowd of 10,000 in Bank of American Arena on Saturday afternoon was at the hands of a young, but talented team.

OSU (9-13, 1-8) started strong and led by six on two occasions in the first half, but again it faltered down the stretch.

“The competitive fight has been good,” coach Jay John said. “At this point we are not good enough in a 40-minute game in the No. 1 (conference) in the country. I don’t know how else to say it.”

Four Washington players were in double figures, led by Jon Brockman with 25 points and eight rebounds. The Huskies (13-7, 3-6) were aggressive on defense and precise on offense.

They outrebounded the Beavers 41-23, with 24 defensive rebounds to OSU’s 10 on offense. That led to Washington owning an edge in second-chance points 22-6.

“I really don’t know what happened,” center Kyle Jeffers said. “We got down 15, then 20. I don’t know how they got their points on the board. I don’t know how Brockman got over 20.”

Starting strong and losing at the end has become a similar scenario that has played out this Pac-10 season, but this time it was to the eighth-place team.

The Beavers fell two games back in ninth as the divide between the top and bottom of the conference grows.

“You look at the record, and I’m disappointed — significantly disappointed,” John said. “The Pac-10 is no joke. Our bullets are not as big as other people’s bullets, which is why we are in games and then there’s a period things get away. We don’t help ourselves by not finishing plays with free throws.”

Josh Tarver was one of the few bright spots for the Beavers. He led the team with 22 points and seven assists in 37 minutes.

The freshman point guard ran the offense well. The team had only 15 turnovers. That’s the best ball security for the Beavers in Seattle in John’s five-year tenure.

Jeffers was dominant early, scoring 12 points and grabbing three rebounds in the first half. He was taken out of his game in the second half and ended up with 14 points and four rebounds.

“We can’t finish games,” Jeffers said. “We have to put two halves together and play a solid game. We need to grow in that area. We need to refocus, and continue to win games. We have to become a better second-half team.”

The strong season by Marcel Jones slowed down over the weekend. He scored only 11 points against the Huskies. His plight against them underscored OSU’s problems.

He was 4-for-10 at the free throw line, while the team was 12-for-32. More than just poor shooting for him, it was how it came about. Some shots weren’t close, air balling one free throw inches short of the rim.

Jones wasn’t alone. Sasa Cuic and Jack McGillis are two other quality outside shooters who threw up air balls on field goal attempts and were off on their free throws.

Poor shooting has become terminal throughout the roster. Players are just shaking their heads at the line in disgust and those watching are slumping in their chairs.

They practice free throws, and shooting in general, but now it has become a mental burden. Players have moved from frustration to anger.

“Maybe we should do nothing,” John said. “It’s just gotten worse. With respect to what’s going in guys’ minds we have to sit down with guys and sort out what it is. It’s a fine line on that; it’s definitely hurting us. It’s obvious guys are nervous when they go out there to shoot free throws. They have to be.”