Beavers Thump Cougars WSU’s Lackluster Play Can’t Overcome Tough Osu Defense

Oregon State basketball coach Eddie Payne said his team won because it played great defense.

Washington State’s Kevin Eastman believed his team lost because it played without energy.

They were both right.

The Beavers beat the Cougars 61-49 Thursday night in Gill Coliseum, holding WSU to season-lows in points and field-goal percentage.

WSU’s loss, its fifth in six games, means the Cougars will take a 3-7 conference record into Saturday night’s visit to Oregon’s McArthur Court - one of the toughest places to play in the Pac-10.

“This was one of the few games this year in which we just didn’t play real well,” Eastman said. “And we still had an opportunity - we cut it to six three or four times and then to three maybe twice, but just did stupid things.”

OSU (6-13, 2-8 Pac-10) freshman point guard Carson Cunningham had 15 points, eight assists and just two turnovers, easing the memory of his 13-turnover debacle in last month’s 80-64 loss to WSU in Spokane.

“When we shoot 38 percent (actually 36), we can’t get into the press,” Eastman said, offering a theory for Cunningham’s turn-around. “He had more of a free reign this time.”

The same could not be said for WSU guard Isaac Fontaine, who spent the first half trying to extricate himself from the arms and legs of Ron Grady, another OSU freshman.

Fontaine made just 3 of 9 mostly difficult shots as the Cougars fell behind 30-21 at halftime.

“It had to do some with their defense,” Fontaine allowed, “and then some of it was just us on offense - execution.”

Or lack thereof.

One 4-minute stretch during the first half saw the Cougars make five terrible decisions - or maybe it was three, if Eastman really wants Tavares Mack firing away from the perimeter as the Beavers expanded their lead from 12-11 to 21-11.

The likelihood of a WSU reversal seemed nil when Fontaine twisted his right ankle barely 35 seconds into the second half.

After having the ankle re-taped, Fontaine limped back into the lineup and immediately canned a 3-pointer that pulled the Cougars within 36-28. He would later stage a one-man comeback, scoring 10 straight points in cutting a 50-37 deficit to 50-47.

Cameron Johnson’s 17-footer made it 52-49 with 3:58 left, but the Cougars would get no closer.

OSU sealed the outcome with 59 seconds left, when Grady made a long 3 from the right wing for a 55-49 lead. It was OSU’s third straight shot - the Beavers twice chased down offensive rebounds after misses by Corey Benjamin.

“We just weren’t energized and they were,” Eastman said. “I thought the crowd (6,462) was a big part of that game. There’s such a difference between the last two years we’ve been here and this year.”

With a little help from his teammates, Fontaine may not have been forced to endure his first career loss to the Beavers.

Forward Carlos Daniel was held to just 11 points and three rebounds. He found little room against OSU behemoths Terrill Woods (280 pounds) and Todd Marshall (250), making just 4 of 10 field goals.

“They played pretty good defense, were physical and (the referees) weren’t calling anything,” Daniel said, “but we can’t use those as excuses.”

Beyond Fontaine (23 points) and Daniel, no Cougar scored more than four points - a big reason WSU was held to its lowest output since a 69-49 loss to Stanford in 1990.

“That’s the best defense we’ve played for an entire 40 minutes all season,” Payne said.

Oregon St. 61, Washington St. 49

Washington State (11-10) - Daniel 4-10 3-6 11, Johnson 2-4 0-0 4, de la Fuente 1-2 0-0 2, Jackson 0-2 2-2 2, Fontaine 7-15 6-7 23, Pengelly 1-5 0-0 3, Archibald 0-2 2-2 2, Slotemaker 1-3 0-0 2, Mack 0-3 0-0 0, Crosby 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 16-49 13-17 49.

Oregon State (6-13) - Woods 2-2 1-3 5, Marshall 3-6 1-2 7, Grady 5-12 1-2 12, Bickerstaff 1-2 0-0 2, Cunningham 3-8 8-11 15, Vaden 0-2 0-0 0, Riggs 0-0 0-0 0, Knight 2-2 0-0 4, S. Benjamin 2-3 1-1 5, Petrovic 0-0 0-0 0, C. Benjamin 3-9 4-6 11. Totals 21-46 16-25 61.

Halftime-Oregon St. 30, Washington St. 21. 3-Point goals-Washington St. 4-15 (Fontaine 3-6, Pengelly 1-4, Johnson 0-1, Archibald 0-2, Crosby 0-2), Oregon St. 3-12 (Cunningham 1-1, Grady 1-4, C. Benjamin 1-5, Vaden 0-2). Fouled out-Jackson. Rebounds-Washington St. 35 (Fontaine 7), Oregon St. 32 (Woods 8). Assists-Washington St. 9 (de la Fuente, Jackson, Fontaine 2), Oregon St. 15 (Cunningham 8). Total fouls-Washington St. 20, Oregon St. 18. A-6,462.

, DataTimes