Balanced Beavers Handle Kent State, 69-50

Wednesday, December 21

Corvallis, OR

8:00 PM

Oregon State

4-9

Kent State

7-5

Kent State

Oregon State

Redshirt freshman Kendal Manuel (24) scored 17 points to lead the Beavers

Photo by: Scobel Wiggins/Oregon State Athletics

December 21, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Postgame Presser

By: Oregon State Communications

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Four players scored in double figures and Oregon State snapped a five-game tailspin with a 69-50 win over Kent State on Wednesday night before a crowd of 4,020 at Gill Coliseum.

The Beavers (4-9) outscored Kent State (7-5) 23-1 over a six-minute span midway through the second half to capture their first victory since a Nov. 28 win over Southern Oregon. The decisive run enabled them to turn a 42-42 tie into an insurmountable 65-43 lead with 3:15 remaining.

Redshirt freshman guard Kendal Manuel hit 4 of 6 shots from beyond the arc and led OSU with 17 points. Freshman guard JaQuori McLaughlin added 14, sophomore guard Stephen Thompson Jr. added 11 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double and sophomore center Drew Eubanks had 13 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots, two steals and two assists.

McLaughlin's 3-pointer at the buzzer gave OSU a 29-28 halftime lead. He notched a career-high eight assists; Thompson Jr. had three assists and four steals.

The Beavers shot a season-high .543 (25-46) overall and a season-best .543 (8-15) from deep and had a 23-17 edge on points after turnovers. They also received strong efforts off the bench from freshman Ben Kone and sophomore Gligorije Rakocevic, who had seven points each, and sophomore Tanner Sanders, with a career-high five rebounds.

OSU held the Golden Flashes, a member of the Mid-American Conference, to 1-for-24 shooting on 3-point attempts. KSU shot just 28 percent overall (21-76).

It was just the second game between the schools. OSU defeated Kent State 76-68 in Hilo, Hawaii, back on Dec. 29, 1997, in the only other previous meeting.

Wednesday's game concluded OSU's nonconference schedule. The Beavers begin Pacific-12 Conference action on Dec. 28, when they host USC in an 8 p.m. game that will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.

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