The Oregon State fans on hand to check out this year's men's basketball team at Sunday's exhibition game against Southern Oregon were no doubt hoping to see signs that the Beavers will build on last year's strong finish.

What the 2,477 who made it to Gill Coliseum for OSU's 94-53 win saw was a team that looks athletic, deep and sharp at both ends of the court.

"It felt good to win like that," Seth Tarver said. "It's nice to see all the stuff that we've been working on in practice to actually work in the games and not just running it against your own team. We had a great game. Everyone just played well together."

The Beavers took a quick 8-0 lead but bogged down with a 12-4 lead at 15 minutes, 13 seconds left in the first half and went nearly five minutes before scoring again.

Then it was off to the races.

The Beavers simply had too much size and depth for SOU to handle. The Beavers scored 30 points off 22 Southern Oregon turnovers and 50 points in the paint.

The lone problem area was at the free-throw line, where the Beavers were 17 of 28.

Coach Craig Robinson said the game was a little raggedy compared to midseason standards but much better than practice.

"We really needed to play against some different competition," Robinson said. "What you see with our offense is you get more in games than you do in practice because everybody at practice knows our little nuances, so by the time you get ready for your first exhibition game you have just beaten the daylights out of each other.

"So this was refreshing for the guys to be able to play against a not-bad Southern Oregon team. It was good for them to play against some smaller, faster guards and I think we just overpowered them with our depth."

Robinson wanted to win the game first and foremost and get all of his players on the court in the process. He accomplished both goals.

Every available player got on the court for the Beavers. That meant true freshman Jared Cunningham, Joe Burton and Angus Brandt made their first appearances for OSU. They are three of a five-member recruiting class - Roberto Nelson is still waiting for NCAA clearance and Rhys Murphy is out with an injury - that has Beaver fans looking forward.

Brandt, Burton and Cunningham all got in during the first half and all three look comfortable on the court.

Burton showed some good footwork and moves around the basket despite spending most of the last week out with the flu. He had six points and two rebounds in 10 minutes.

Brandt has similar skills to Roeland Schaftenaar, with good shooting range and passing ability. He scored five points and had six rebounds.

Cunningham looked confident taking the ball to the basket, getting the Beavers fans buzzing by banging a dunk attempt off the bracket but coming back with a driving score. He finished with seven points and two assists. Robinson said he has the athletic ability to guard most Pacific-10 Conference guards.

Tarver said OSU's ability to play over 10 players without fear of a drop off will help as the season goes on.

"In a game like today it doesn't really matter, but down the stretch, yeah, when we're playing games back-to-back or every other day we're playing tough games, guys' legs will be tired so depth will definitely be an issue," he said. "It's nice to see the new guys can contribute physically. They're ready to play at the college level."

Omari Johnson led the Beavers with 16 points and Tarver added 15.

Oregon State 94, Southern Oregon 53

SOUTHERN OREGON 53: Joe White 4-5 2-2 14, Justonn Smith 3-10 1-2 8, David Grant 2-4 0-0 5, Ryan Staker 2-5 1-1 5, Drew Herrera 0-2 2-2 2, Humphrey Jackson 1-6 0-0 2, Nate Rodriguez 0-0 0-0 0, Trevor McCay 4-8 1-1 10, Armani Jackson 2-4 0-3 4, Roland Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Mackovjak 0-0 2-2 2, Austin Wolfer 0-3 1-2 1. Totals: 18-48 10-15 53.

OREGON STATE 94: Omari Johnson 6-8 2-2 16, Seth Tarver 4-5 7-9 15, Roeland Schaftenaar 2-5 0-0 5, Josh Tarver 4-6 2-4 11, Calvin Haynes 5-9 2-2 13, Kevin McShane 2-2 0-2 5, Jared Cunningham 3-7 1-3 7, Calvin Hampton 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Richard 0-2 0-0 0, David Sturner 1-2 0-0 2, Joe Burton 3-4 0-1 6, Angus Brandt 2-3 0-1 5, Daniel Deane 2-4 3-4 7, Lathen Wallace 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 35-62 17-28 94.

Three-point goals: SOU 7-17 (Smith 1-3, Grant 1-2, Herrera 0-2, H. Jackson 0-2, McCay 1-3, White 4-5). OSU 7-22 (S. Tarver 0-1, Johnson 2-3, Schaftenaar 1-2, J. Tarver 1-3, Haynes 1-3, McShane 1-1, Cunningham 0-3, Richard 0-1, Sturner 0-1, Brandt 1-2, Wallace 0-2). Rebounds: SOU 30 (Grant 7). OSU 40 (S. Tarver 6, Johnson 6, Brandt 6, Deane 6). Fouls: SOU 25. OSU 20. Assists: SOU 9 (H. Jackson 3). OSU 20 (S. Tarver 4). Turnovers: SOU 22. OSU 7. Blocks: SOU 0. OSU 7 (Brandt 4). Steals: SOU 3. OSU 17 (S. Tarver 4, Johnson 4, Haynes 4). Technical fouls: None. Halftime score: OSU 46, SOU 22. Attendance: 2477.