Beavs play 'partial' game against UCLA

CRAIG ROBINSON WAS succinct following the Beavs' 79-54 loss to UCLA -- great first 10 minutes, followed by some horrible play. Oregon State lost their defensive focus after their first round of substitutions and by the time they got it back, the Beavs had dug a 24-point hole.

Neither team was sharp in the early going -- turnovers and errant shots were plentiful in the first few minutes. UCLA shook off the malaise first. Still, it was only 9-6 Bruins more than eight minutes into the game.

Two steals led to five straight OSU points and the Beavs took an 11-9 lead. Things took a decided turn for the worse after that for Oregon State (13-15, 7-10).

"We played a great first 10-11 minutes, and then we played horribly," said Craig Robinson on the post game show.

UCLA (23-7, 12-5) answered the Beaver run with one of their own and quickly built a 17-11 advantage as the Bruins began to find the range from outside. Beaver breakdowns on defense in turn led to a double digit deficit -- and about the only thing keeping Oregon State within spitting distance was the 3-point shot, as Lathen Wallace hit a trey to cut the lead to 29-19.

But UCLA promptly went on a 10-0 run, fueled by the 3-point shot, to take a 20-point lead lead with 2:15 left in the first half -- and the game was effectively over.

"I was very disappointed when we made our first wave of substitutions and they made three straight threes," said Robinson.

UCLA led at the break, 43-19.

"You can't play partial games..especially against Top 25 games," said Robinson.

Oregon State opened the second half on a 13-5 run to cut the lead to 16 but UCLA pushed it back to 22 when Oregon State didn't close off the paint. The Beavs executed better in the second half but could never mount a serious charge.

Lathen Wallace led the Beavs with 15 points, while Seth Tarver had 13 for Oregon State.

The Beavers were 7-for-26 from the floor in the first half. OSU shot better than 50 percent from the field in the second half to finish the night at a respectable 42.6 shooting but as Robinson noted, it's easier to make buckets when you're trailing by 20.

On the night, Oregon State allowed UCLA to hit at a 58.5 percent clip from the floor.

Robinson stressed the loss to UCLA certainly doesn't diminish what OSU has accomplished to this point in the season -- but he also added that the Beavers have not played to their potential of late and there's more work to be done this season.

"Our guys have to understand we're trying to make another step...we've come to expect a little bit more," said Robinson.