The reaction coming from Oregon State’s locker room after the Beavers’ 77-68 men’s basketball loss to Oregon was, to use the PG term, disappointment.
In a sense, it’s also encouraging.
Because a month ago, few could have seen this coming. OSU was young, lost and ineffective at the offensive end. People knew the Beavers would have growing pains with nine new players on the roster, but to get thoroughly outplayed by Portland State?
It looked like a long, cold winter was ahead for Oregon State basketball.
The Beavers were determined to make their PK Legacy finale against Portland State during Thanksgiving weekend the season’s low point. Since then, OSU has become competitive and interesting. In December, the Beavers were 4-3, and two of the losses — a one-pointer to USC, and Saturday against Oregon — could easily have been wins.
Oregon (8-6, 2-1) had fifth-year guard Will Richardson, and Oregon State (7-7, 1-2) didn’t. In a nutshell, that’s the reason the Ducks won at Matthew Knight Arena. The game was tied at 66-66 with six minutes left when the Ducks leaned hard on Richardson. The senior guard produced Oregon’s final six points, as the Ducks outscored OSU 11-2 down the stretch to win the game.
But there was so much to like from Oregon State’s performance. The Beavers’ offense was as good as it’s been all season for a large stretch of the second half. Trailing by 13 at halftime, OSU outscored the Ducks 29-13 during the first 11 minutes of the second half.
It wasn’t until Richardson drained a three with 1:40 left to give Oregon a 76-68 lead that the Beavers lost hope.
A competitive performance against Oregon that was unthinkable a month ago now appears to be the standard.
“They’re taking to coaching. They’re playing harder. They’re playing for each other,” OSU coach Wayne Tinkle said.
Dexter Akanno, who led Oregon State with 20 points, said the response since losing twice to Portland State in November made sense, given the makeup of OSU’s roster.
“That’s the kind of guys and character that we have in this room. These guys want to play hard. They come in ready to work every single day, with the right attitude and right character,” Akanno said.
Tinkle said the Beavers followed the lead of one of the team leaders in Taylor. Tinkle yanked Taylor from the starting lineup for the first three games of December. Tinkle thought Taylor was forcing things. Perhaps coming off the bench might change his perspective.
Taylor still played big minutes, but his shooting percentage and playmaking ability increased.
“He bought into moving the ball, picking his spots, being a leader every day, practicing harder than he ever has,” Tinkle said. “I think him doing that sent a message to a lot of the other guys.”
Let’s not go crazy on OSU, though. The Beavers, 3-28 a year ago, still have miles to go. Oregon made 12 of its first 18 shots, many on open looks. The taller Ducks outrebounded OSU 24-8 during the first half, which included 13 offensive rebounds. Tinkle said there’s still a mindset that when things don’t go well at the offensive end, the Beavers sometimes compound it with breakdowns on defense.
But at least there’s now some good to balance out the lulls. The Beavers hit 7 of 14 from three-point range. Tyler Bilodeau, Jordan Pope and Michael Rataj have become formidable freshmen with bright futures. Akanno and Taylor are growing into leadership and lead player roles. Once 7-foot-2 Chol Marial returns from an ankle injury, the Beavers will have some size.
Oregon State’s near-upset at Oregon doesn’t appear to be fool’s gold. But the proof comes over the next several weeks, as the Beavers begin the meat of the schedule next week with a two-game road trip at Utah and Colorado.
That long, cold winter? There’s a fire cooking within OSU men’s basketball. A championship basketball team they’re not — yet — but the Beavers will be a tough out in 2023 if their December play takes another step forward.
-- Nick Daschel reported from Eugene.
ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel
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