Spring Break
Beavers stopped in defensive duel with No. 24 Sun Devils
Oregon State, Arizona State match zone defenses against one another in ASU's 49-38 victory Saturday night over OSU
Matt Wilhelmsen
Issue date: 2/9/09 Section: Sports
Looking to bounce back after a last minute heartbreaker Thursday against the University of Arizona that resulted in a 56-53 final, the Beavers hoped to play one of their best games and upset No. 24 Arizona State.
Oregon State started the game just as they needed, forcing three consecutive turnovers. While setting the tone early on defense, the Beavers were unable to finish on offense, scoring on only one of the three possessions. A steal resulted in a three-pointer by senior guard Rickey Claitt, igniting a home crowd.
The early flair would be one of the only positive things the Beavers would show all night. After going down 8-5, Oregon State would trail the entire night, losing 49-38 in the end.
Playing solid defense, the Beavers forced six turnovers in the first half while avoiding committing a team foul until less then eight minutes remained.
The game remained tied at five for minutes until Jamelle McMillan, son of Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Saturday attendee Nate McMillan, hit a three-pointer to put the Sun Devils on top.
Up until this point, ASU's ability to bring down offensive rebounds and the Beavers' inability to finish under the basket kept the Sun Devils in a game that Oregon State had multiple opportunities to run away with.
"Today we got shots right at the rim and missed them," head coach Craig Robinson said. "I was encouraged the way the game was going. We figured out how to get stuff around the basket and not rely on threes. We weren't settling for threes and I think that is a real depiction of what happened. We got some really good looks but we couldn't finish."
The sloppiness of the first half was screaming through the score, as neither team was able to break double digits until 6:31 remaining. The Sun Devils went up by four, thanks to another McMillan three pointer. It was the biggest lead of the game up until this point.
The Beavers would remain in single digits until 2:17 was left, when Omari Johnson found Roeland Schaftenaar for a quick two, making the score 11-16. Each team would add one more basket, putting the Beavers six points behind, entering the locker room 13-19.
Oregon State started the game just as they needed, forcing three consecutive turnovers. While setting the tone early on defense, the Beavers were unable to finish on offense, scoring on only one of the three possessions. A steal resulted in a three-pointer by senior guard Rickey Claitt, igniting a home crowd.
The early flair would be one of the only positive things the Beavers would show all night. After going down 8-5, Oregon State would trail the entire night, losing 49-38 in the end.
Playing solid defense, the Beavers forced six turnovers in the first half while avoiding committing a team foul until less then eight minutes remained.
The game remained tied at five for minutes until Jamelle McMillan, son of Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Saturday attendee Nate McMillan, hit a three-pointer to put the Sun Devils on top.
Up until this point, ASU's ability to bring down offensive rebounds and the Beavers' inability to finish under the basket kept the Sun Devils in a game that Oregon State had multiple opportunities to run away with.
"Today we got shots right at the rim and missed them," head coach Craig Robinson said. "I was encouraged the way the game was going. We figured out how to get stuff around the basket and not rely on threes. We weren't settling for threes and I think that is a real depiction of what happened. We got some really good looks but we couldn't finish."
The sloppiness of the first half was screaming through the score, as neither team was able to break double digits until 6:31 remaining. The Sun Devils went up by four, thanks to another McMillan three pointer. It was the biggest lead of the game up until this point.
The Beavers would remain in single digits until 2:17 was left, when Omari Johnson found Roeland Schaftenaar for a quick two, making the score 11-16. Each team would add one more basket, putting the Beavers six points behind, entering the locker room 13-19.
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