Oregon State
Washington State
Beavers Comeback Falls Short In 81-76 Loss To Washington State
December 31, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2011
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SPOKANE, Wash. - Jared Cunningham had 21 points and Ahmad Starks added 18 but Oregon State got off to a slow start and was unable to complete the comeback in an 81-76 loss to Washington State on Saturday afternoon at Spokane Arena.
The Cougars (9-5, 1-1 Pac-12) jumped out to an 18-9 lead six minutes into the game and led 28-19 with 7:26 to go in the first half before the Beavers (10-4, 0-2) rallied to tie it 35-35 on a three-pointer by Starks. Washington State then scored the next five points to take a 40-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.
"I need to go back to the drawing board and figure out what I have to do to get this team motivated to be as good as they are at the beginning of the games as they are at the end of the games," Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson said. "Our offense, actually playing against a zone like that, to score 76 points is pretty good. If you take the fact we start the game off slower than we normally do, that's the difference in the amount of points we scored."
Washington State built its largest lead of the game at 65-54 with 5:19 to play before the Beavers went on an 8-0 run on two three-pointers by Starks and a pair of free throws by Cunningham to cut the lead to three with just over four minutes to play.
The Cougars led 75-68 with 1:14 to play when Roberto Nelson came off the bench to hit a three-pointer and cut it to four. After three free throws by Washington State, Cunningham made two of his own to make it 78-76. DaVonte Lacy then made one of two free throws to give the Cougars a 79-76 lead with 29 seconds left and Starks and Cunningham each had three-pointers roll out that could have tied the game.
"It's just hard to constantly come from behind," Robinson said. "You expend all of your energy coming back, and then when it's time to play evenly, you're spent. I have to do a better job starting us off so we aren't always fighting our way back."
Joe Burton made 7-of-11 shots from the field to finish with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Eric Moreland had a game-high 10 rebounds and two blocked shots to tie Devon Collier's Oregon State freshman blocked shots record with 23 on the season. Cunningham and Starks each had four steals and Starks tied his career-high with five three-pointers.
"There are 16 Pac-12 games left, and if I thought you had to be 17-1 or 16-2, I would be worried," Robinson said. "But I don't think you need to do that to do well in the league this year. I think you need to take care of your home games and win a few on the road."
The Beavers have their Pac-12 home opener on Thursday, Jan. 5 against California in a game that will not be televised or have live video due to conference regulations. Tickets can be purchased online at osubeavers.com, by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS or visiting the Gill Coliseum ticket office during business hours.
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