Surprising Oregon St. Reaches 5-1

West roundup

Corey Benjamin had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead Oregon State to a 92-60 victory over Northeastern Illinois in non-conference men’s basketball Saturday night at Corvallis, Ore.

The victory gave Oregon State its first 5-1 start since 1990. The Beavers also got 17 points from Jerome Vaden and 12 points from Iyan Walker.

Oregon State had a 50-35 advantage in rebounds as Nick Greene and Terrill Woods chipped in six each.

Northeastern Illinois (3-5), which shot 32.8 percent (19 for 58) from the field, was led by Brad Bestor with 15 points.

The Beavers took control with a 15-2 run midway through the first half, going from a 10-8 deficit to a 23-12 lead.

By halftime, Oregon State led 55-29.

Oregon 78, Loyola Marymount 73

At Eugene, Ore., Terik Brown scored 16 points and led five Ducks in double figures as Oregon (3-3) held off the Lions (1-6).

Jonathan Nelson sank a pair of free throws to give the Ducks their biggest lead of the game at 78-58 with 3:52 left, but a 13-point flurry from the Lions (1-6) brought them within 76-71 with 59 seconds left.

Henry Madden and A.D. Smith each scored 11 points. Donte Quinine and Nelson added 10 apiece off the bench for Oregon.

Hayward Eaddy led the Lions with 17 points and five assists.

Santa Clara 88, UCSB 73

At Santa Barbara, Calif., Lloyd Pierce’s 19 points led the Broncos (5-1) past the Gauchos (2-4).

San Diego 84, So. Utah 59

At Cedar City, Utah, Brian Miles scored 23 points and Ryan Williams added 16 as the Toreros (4-3) rolled over the Thunderbirds (1-7).

BYU 53, Pepperdine 52

Bart Jepsen hit a 14-foot jumper with 27.4 seconds left to lift the Cougars (3-6) over the Waves (5-3) in the title game of the Cougar Classic at Provo, Utah.

BYU won despite going the first nine minutes, 35 seconds of the second half without scoring. However, Pepperdine scored only nine points during that span.

And, Pepperdine scored just one basket in the final 17:06.

Auburn 63, Weber St. 58

Also at Provo, Utah, Bryant Smith had a pair of rebound baskets during an 8-0 run to lead the Tigers (6-2) over the Wildcats (1-6) in the consolation game of the Cougar Classic.

Montana St. 87, Rocky Mtn. 50

At Bozeman, Mont., Nate Holmstadt, Damon Ollie and Dan Sullivan scored 16 points each to lead the Bobcats (6-1) past NAIA Rocky Mountain College (0-9).

Sac. St. 73, Cal Poly SLO 70

At Sacramento, Calif., the Hornets (1-8) made three free throws in the final 47 seconds to beat the Mustangs (5-3) and snap a 14-game losing streak dating back to last season.

Portland St. 92, Cascade 41

At Portland, Brian Towne scored 19 points and Jason Hartman added 17 to lead the Vikings.

Hartman, who transferred from Washington and redshirted last year, was playing in his first game for Portland State (5-1).

Idaho St. 63, Tenn-Martin 50

At West Lafayette, Ind., Tywan Meadows scored 15 points and Dedrick Bell 11 to lead the Bengals (3-5) to third place in Purdue’s Boilermaker Invitational.

Joe Crumby scored 17 points and Ryan DeMichael 14 for Tennessee-Martin (3-5).

N. Arizona 91, W. Oregon 63

At Flagstaff, Ariz., Dan McClintock scored 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting as the Lumberjacks (4-3) used a second-half surge to defeat the Wolves (3-7).

New Mex. St. 82, SE Louisiana 79

At Las Cruces, N.M., Denmark Reid started slowly but caught fire late, scoring 19 second-half points to lead the Aggies (4-3) over the Lions (4-3).

San Diego St. 69, UC Irvine 66

At Irvine, Calif., Matt Watts banked in a 3-pointer with 1:39 to go as the Aztecs (3-4) defeated the Anteaters (1-5).