Returning guard Josiah Lake II has stepped up for Oregon State team that lost top five scorers | Key matchup

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The transfer portal carousel started spinning and never stopped for Oregon State this offseason.

The Beavers eventually lost all five starters and their top five scorers to high-major programs: 16.9 points per game to Baylor (Michael Rataj), 12.8 ppg to Oklahoma State (Parsa Fallah), 11.8 ppg to Syracuse (Nate Kingz), 9.8 ppg to Pittsburgh (Damarco Minor) and 8.7 ppg to TCU (Liutauras Lelevicius).

When the dust finally settled, one of the only rotation players remaining was Josiah Lake II, a 6-foot-2 guard who averaged 6.9 ppg for the Beavers as a sophomore reserve.

Lake II needed to take a big step for Oregon State as a junior and the product of nearby Tualatin has mostly delivered for 12th-year coach Wayne Tinkle. The focal point of the Beavers’ offense, Lake II is now averaging team highs in scoring (13.5 ppg) and assists (3.8 apg) for an OSU team seeking its second straight home win against Gonzaga on Saturday (3 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+) at Gill Coliseum.

The Zags got a long look at Lake II in the first of two meetings between the current West Coast Conference and future Pac-12 foes. Lake II played 34 minutes in OSU’s 97-89 overtime win over GU last season, scoring 11 points to go with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. He was less effective while scoring only two points and missing all five shots from the field in a 98-60 loss at the Kennel just two weeks later.

Lake’s been a tough guard for opponents because of his ability to create foul pressure, make shots from behind the 3-point line and manufacture shots for his teammates. The guard’s 114 free throws rank second in the WCC and he’s shooting 83.2% from the foul line.

Lake isn’t taking as many 3’s as Beaver teammates Dez White and Isaiah Sy, but he makes them at a team-high clip of 37.7%.

The junior should encounter a focused Gonzaga team that will try to lock in defensively after giving up 27 points to the last point guard it faced, Portland freshman Joel Foxwell.

The Zags have been good at creating extra possessions, forcing six of their last seven opponents into at least 15 turnovers. There could be opportunities for GU’s Braeden Smith and Mario Saint-Supery to disrupt Lake, who’s averaging 2.4 turnovers per game.