OSU gets 14 steals and scores 21 points off turnovers in win

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Gazette-Times Reporter

It’s slowly starting to come together.

The Oregon State men’s basketball team put together a second straight complete game. And this time the Beavers were victorious.

Aggressive defense kept the game close, while the usual shooting woes held them back in the first half. A 3-point shot at the halftime buzzer by Josh Tarver turned the game in their favor, giving them a two-point lead.

OSU held on to knock off Washington, 73-65, in the Pacific-10 Conference game Thursday night in Gill Coliseum before a crowd of 5,615.

The defeat damaged Washington’s hopes for an NCAA Tournament berth, and may have set up a rematch with the Beavers in the first round of the conference tournament when the eighth and ninth place teams face off.

“When we went up at halftime it sparked everything in the second half and we knew we were going to win it,” Tarver said. “Everybody was pumped up and ready to go. We knew what we had to do, and we had momentum.”

The Beavers (11-18, 3-13) typically run out of energy in the second half when they play catch-up because of the shooting issues. Then the defense lets up.

Not this time.

OSU came out strong in the second half with a series of layups, penetrating the Washington interior. There were lob passes to the rim and backdoor plays scripted out.

The defense in turn remained true. Big men Jon Brockman and Spencer Hawes for Washington (16-11, 6-9) combined for a difficult 36 points, but the guards had an off night.

Washington turned the ball over 21 times, and OSU stole it 14 times to pad its Pac-10 lead in that category. It helped counteract a 42-23 rebounding advantage by the Huskies.

“We executed the game plan from wire-to-wire,” coach Jay John said. “We got physically man-handled in Seattle. We were not going to let that happen this time. We stepped up to the challenge. We were active. What they got, they had to work for. That’s the difference for us.”

The lead for the Beavers reached 14 points with 7:16 left in the game. The Huskies tried to rally by fouling to put the Beavers on the free-throw line.

It was a smart move since OSU is last in the Pac-10 in free-throw shooting at 60 percent.

However, this was the game where the light bulb went on. The Beavers hit 64 percent in the game, 77 percent in the second half.

The Beavers were 22-for-28 in the final 2:30. Five players were put on the spot and all found the net.

“I would have done the same thing,” John said. “We are shooting 60 percent as a team, but we are shooting better the last four games and we are at home. Once the first couple started going in, now it’s not the same. We were fine. We kept hitting.”

The free-throw problems have improved with a team-wide focus in practice. Now the players are not as nervous at the line.

“Guys are pretty confident now that coach has us running sprints everyday,” guard Wesley Washington said. “I’m talking about marathons when we miss the free throws. We are confident now stepping up to the line, or we are going to regret it in practice.”

Free throw success led to an overall improved night shooting. The Beavers were 46 percent from the field, 50 percent in the second half.

Four players reached double figures, led by Tarver with 16, Marcel Jones with 15 and Washington at 14. Jack McGillis added 11.

Tarver matched his season high in assists again with seven, while he and Washington had four steals each.

“We just fought for 40 minutes,” Jones said. “We were able to make free-throws down the stretch. Our guys stepped up and knocked them down. We just had to be aggressive. The guys did a good job of attacking them and drew fouls. We had free throw woes in the first half, but it was good we came back.”