Beavs still searching for league win

A FAMILIAR STORYLINE since Pac-10 play began played out for the Beavers on Thursday night. Oregon State played well against Washington State in stretches, but cold shooting ultimately kept them from seizing the upper hand and the Beavs dropped to 0-12 in Pac-10 play with a 70-57 loss at home. Redshirt frosh Lathan Wallace led OSU with 13 points.

Both teams shot poorly for much of the opening half before WSU eventually picked up the pace, finishing at 48 percent for the game. Oregon State also shot better in the second half but was 32 percent for the game, and only 22 percent in the first half.

WSU is known for their tough defense but the first half woes on this night had more to do with the shots just not falling -- Oregon State did a nice job of running their offense to get open looks against the Cougars, particularly in the first half.

“You can’t go (10) minutes without a field goal and expect to win,” OSU interim coach Kevin Mouton said. “You have to make some shots to get a rhythm. We didn’t follow through and finish around the basket.”

The Beavers' bench outscored the Cougars' 38-2 in the game.

Oregon State did close to within 37-31 on a 3-pointer from Lathen Wallace early in the second half, but the Cougars immediately answered with a trey of their own and proceeded to go on a 10-4 run that essentially put the game out of reach. It was only the second win for the Cougs in Corvallis in the last 10 tries.

Wallace led the Beavs with 13 points while Marcel Jones added 10. The Beavs outrebounded the Cougars 36-34, with a 13-5 edge in offensive boards.

It was the 14th consecutive loss for the Beavers, matching the school-record from the 1995-96 team. Since the Arizona schools joined the league in 1978, no team has gone 0-18 in Pac-10 play.

The Huskies come to town on Saturday. The first meeting this season in Seattle between the two schools was closer than the 83-74 would indicate and looking at the remaining schedule, it could be one of the best chances for the Beavs to log their first league win. Washington sits in ninth place in the Pac-10 with a 4-8 record in conference and a 13-12 mark overall.