COUGARS

Oregon State lives on turnovers. The Beavers' offense needs them to survive. And tonight, it's getting them. Fifteen of them, in fact, including three consecutive possessions to open the game and three more in the final minute of the half. No one on WSU is taking care of the ball, not Reggie Moore, not Xavier Thames, not anyone. Some of the turnovers are forced by OSU's swarming defense, whether the Beavers are playing their usual 1-3-1 zone or in the 2-3 they play after misses. But many of them are just dumb decisions that turn into freebies for OSU. ... A lot has been made of Klay Thompson's poor shooting lately, which didn't continue in the first half partly because Thompson made the only (yes, only) shot he took, a breakaway dunk after a steal. But Moore is struggling with his shot as well, missing all six of his attempts – many open – dropping him to 11 of his last 42, 26.2 percent. When a team's two leading scorers are unable to put the ball in the basket, not many of them are going to win. ... WSU has made four shots. It has as many turnovers as points. Other than Nik Koprivica (2 of 3, seven points) no one is being aggressive with the ball. The Cougars trailed 11-2, got within 13-11, then were outscored 20-4 in the final 10 minutes. ... Freshman Jared Cunningham, besides flying around at the bottom of the 1-3-1, leads all scorers with 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting. He also has six steals. ... We'll be back when it's over.

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