Beginning of a regular season ending surge?

THIS WAS THE one Oregon State needed. A not-so-subtle reminder that all that had come before this season was indeed indicative of what could come in the future. Oregon State went out on the road and trailing by 12 points at halftime, mounted a furious charge and when it was most critical, sealed the deal with a 54-52 win over Washington State.

Most will remember the hot shooting in the second half but Oregon State won this one with defense.

Oregon State extended their 1-3-1 zone and took WSU out of their offensive flow throughout the second half. The Cougars had earlier shot well in the first half, and Oregon State seemed lost. But things changed considerably over the final 20 minutes.

The Beavs erased most of the 12-point halftime deficit before the period was five minutes old. The outside shooting of Calvin Haynes coupled with the inside presence -- and especially the passing -- of Roeland Schaftenaar led the Beavs to the road win.

The Cougs didn't pressure Schaftenaar the way other teams have of late, and the 6-11 point forward made them pay with five assists on the night, the most on either team.

The Beavs took their first lead of the game on Kevin McShane 's jumper with 7:43 left.

Haynes scored 17 points, with a dozen of them coming in the second half. Seth Tarver was also in double figures with 13 on 5-for-7 shooting. Schaftenaar and Rickey Claitt both added eight points.

"Each win is better than the one before for us, because this is uncharted territory,'' said first year OSU coach Craig Robinson after the game.

OSU hosts Stanford Thursday and Cal on Saturday, two teams that are above them in the Pac-10 standings. The Beavers swept the Bay Area teams on the road in their last meeting.