HOOPS: Beavs halt streak in win over UCLA

THE STREAK IS OVER. Oregon State came in struggling, UCLA came in charging, but none of that mattered in Oregon State's 87-84 win over the Bruins -- in a game that wasn't as close as the final score would suggest.

Indeed, the Beavs had the game in hand over the final minutes and were never seriously threatened.

The Beavers 19-8 run with 15 minutes left was the difference in stopping a loss streak to UCLA that had reached 13 games and stretched back to 2005.

Jared Cunningham started it with a three-pointer that broke a 51-51 tie. UCLA didn't shoot badly during the stretch, OSU was just simply that much better on offense.

Cunningham scored nine points during the run, which put the Beavers ahead 70-59 with nine minutes left. OSU forced critical turnovers in the second half that stopped the Bruins before they could begin to seriously try and chip away.

Oregon State shot a sterling 58 percent from the field on the night. Cunningham had 21 points and Devon Collier added 20 of his own on 8-of-12 shooting.

Collier has now scored 20 or more points in consecutive games. Angus Brandt added 13 points and five assists.

Sharpshooter Ahmad Starks added 13 timely points for the Beavers, as did Roberto Nelson, another Beaver who scored in double digits with 10 points from the field.

OSU hosts USC on Saturday (TV: Root Sports, 7:30 p.m.). The Trojans are winless in the Pac-12, (5-14, 0-6), but nearly knocked off Oregon on Thursday, falling 65-62. Southern Cal has not been winless this deep into conference play since opening 0-12 in 1989.