Wayne Tinkle's Oregon State Beavers played their second game of the season tonight in Corvallis, where they beat up on Weber State, 76-48, in a game where they led wire to wire. They continued to build on a comfortable lead throughout the second half after leading by nine by the end of the first period, shutting down the Wildcats offense and making life difficult by locking down on the perimeter.
Despite DaMarco Minor's tough shooting night, where he went 1-for-11 from the field and scored just three points (though he did have eight assists and six rebounds), the Beavers rolled behind four players in double figures. Nate Kingz hit four three-pointers and scored 16 points, while Parsa Fallah scored 16 on 6-for-9 from the field. Michael Rataj scored 15 points and recorded a game-high 13 rebounds, and Josiah Lake II poured in an additional 13 points.
For Weber State, who managed just 33.3% shooting from the field overall and 28% from three, only one player scored over 10 points - Blaise Threatt had 14 on 7-of-13 shooting as well as grabbing six boards and dishing four dimes. The rest of the offense struggled heavily with efficiency - last game's leading scorer Dyson Koehler totaled just three points on 1-of-9 shooting, and no player other than Threatt put up more than seven.
It was a good defensive showing for a Beavers team that gave up nearly 73 points per game last season, which ranked them 207th in the nation in 2023-24. It seems this Oregon State team has a real focus on the defensive end, as they forced difficult shots and turned the Wildcats over 15 times. The Beavers took advantage of these errors by converting them into offensive opportunities, scoring 20 points off of Weber State turnovers, to just eight by the Wildcats. They also blocked six shots (three by Rataj) and had 19 assists to Weber State's seven.
Overall, it was a thorough domination of a team that went 20-12 and 11-7 in the Big Sky Conference last season, though the Wildcats lost first-round pick Dillon Jones in the offseason to the NBA. The Beavers are now 2-0 for the third straight season, and will look to continue their winning ways when they take on Western Oregon on Tuesday, the third of a five-game home stand to start 2024.