Oregon State kept the good vibes rolling Friday night, turning in another lopsided result with a 96-68 win over Cal Baptist at Gill.
The Beavers got a balanced effort behind Legend Smiley’s 21 points, but the box score was filled with contributors. Josiah Lake added 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Deshawn Gory finished with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists. Xavion Staton chipped in eight points, six rebounds, five assists and a block.
Gory came out firing and didn’t miss on his first six shots, piling up 14 points in the opening stretch. Oregon State built a 27-19 edge at the under-12 timeout, helped by five makes on 10 attempts from beyond the arc. The offense then cooled for about two and a half minutes before Smiley snapped the drought.
The first half stayed physical down the stretch, with both teams reaching the bonus by the 4:09 mark and trading baskets in the final minutes. Right before the two-minute media timeout, Staton punctuated the half with an alley-oop dunk off a Gory feed that brought the crowd to life.
Staton went into halftime with six points, four rebounds, two assists and a block, and Oregon State carried a 44-34 lead into the break.
The Beavers kept control after halftime, pushing the margin to 15 points by the first media timeout. Cal Baptist made a push and trimmed the deficit to nine with 11:48 left, but Oregon State answered with back-to-back threes to swing the game back its way.
Great ball movement sets up Legend for 3!#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/fbqSGXq59h
Cal Baptist managed a few more good possessions from there, including a 7-0 run with seven minutes remaining, but Oregon State never let the game get away from it. The Beavers’ lead grew to 31 points inside the final two minutes, and they finished with 12 made threes.
The win sends Oregon State to 2-0 on the season. The Beavers are back at home Monday, November 9 against Eastern Washington at 6:30 PM PT, with the game set to air on the Pac-12’s official YouTube channel.
In Other News...
Oregon State Faces A Bigger Test Than Saturdays Betting Line Suggests
Saturdays matchup at Reser Stadium looks straightforward on paper, with Oregon State laying 6.5 points against Texas State, but the deeper read from the other sideline suggests a game that could ask more questions than the line implies. A Q&A with Texas State beat reporter Caleb Yum painted a picture of a Bobcats team that has enough offensive punch to make things interesting, while also carrying the kind of defensive concerns that can turn a road trip into a track meet.
Much of the focus centered on quarterback Brad Jackson, whose strengths and weaknesses help define how Texas State wants to play and where Oregon State can try to press its advantage. The preview also pointed to the defensive challenges the Bobcats will have to survive if they want to leave Corvallis with a result, which is why this one feels less like a routine home favorite spot and more like a test of whether the Beavers can control the game before the broadcast and streaming audience settles in for a long afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon States Rebuilt Roster Is Sending An Early Message
Oregon States early-season reset is looking a lot more polished than most rebuilt rosters do in November. The Beavers rolled past Cal Baptist 96-68, leaned on a fast-paced offensive approach, and showed a balance that suggested the new players and new coaching staff are settling in quickly. Legend Smiley was at the center of it, giving Oregon State a steady scoring presence while the team also made its living attacking the paint and finishing at a high clip inside the arc.
The bigger takeaway for the Beavers is what the performance said about their cohesion. Even with so many fresh pieces, Oregon State moved well enough to keep pressure on Cal Baptist from start to finish and looked comfortable playing the kind of basketball that can travel once the schedule gets tougher. At 2-0, the record is still early, but the way the Beavers are already sharing the load and generating efficient offense is the sort of message a program wants to send before league play starts to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon State Needs More Than One Star To Bounce Back Against Texas State
Oregon State heads into its matchup with Texas State trying to steady itself after taking its first conference loss, and the Beavers will need more than one standout to do it. The focus this week is on how the secondary responds and whether the passing game can find enough rhythm to support the rest of the offense, especially with several younger contributors continuing to carve out roles.
A sophomore running back has been one of the brighter spots lately, while a true freshman wide receiver and a transfer tight end have both shown they can give the passing attack some needed juice. Those individual flashes matter, but Oregon States challenge is turning them into a more complete effort, one that travels better and gives the Beavers a cleaner path back on track. [Read more 🡒]