CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said he challenged his team during halftime of a Civil War matchup to pick up the intensity and get more aggressive.
“They took it to the court and they were not going to be denied and that’s what really makes me proud,” he added.
Tinkle’s son Tres Tinkle had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists as Oregon State took control of the game in the second half to beat archrival Oregon 76-64 on Friday night.
Stephen Thompson Jr. scored 16 points and had six assists and Drew Eubanks added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Beavers (10-5, 2-1 Pac-12).
“We looked at ourselves in the mirror and we just came out and we played a lot tougher in the second half,” said Eubanks, who had two blocks but altered several shots.
Paul White came off the bench and had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Victor Bailey Jr. scored 11 points, for the Ducks (11-5, 1-2).
Oregon State shot 53 percent compared to 36 percent for Oregon, and outrebounded the Ducks 43-36.
“I’m really disappointed in our effort. They simply played harder than we did in the second half,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said.
Neither team was at their sharpest early on offense. The Ducks went four-plus minutes without scoring late in the first half, but the Beavers scored only five points during the drought.
Oregon State led 30-29 at halftime.
The Beavers surged ahead 45-38 after a 9-2 run, capped by a Thompson 3-pointer with 12:44 left. Oregon stormed back with five straight points.
But Oregon State went answered with a 12-1 run, capped by a Seth Berger layup, to go ahead 57-44 with eight minutes to play. The Beavers led by as many as 17 points in the second half.
This was the 349th battle between the two schools, making it the most-contested rivalry in college basketball. The series dates to 1903, and Oregon State has a 187-162 edge over the Ducks, who have won seven of the last nine games between the schools.
Big picture
DUCKS: Sophomore guard Payton Pritchard came into the game leading the Ducks with 15.4 points per game, but he didn’t score on Friday until there were 14 minutes remaining. He finished with nine points. … Coach Dana Altman remains two wins away from 200 for his career.
BEAVERS: Thompson Jr. became the 40th Oregon State player to join the 1,000 point club. The junior now has 1,012 points. … Berger, a transfer from Massachusetts, scored a season-high 12 points.
Free-throw streak
Tres Tinkle had made 23 consecutive free throws, but he missed his first attempt on Friday after getting fouled on a layup in the first minute. He finished 4 for 5 from the free-throw line. The Oregon State record for consecutive free throws is 34, set by Vince Fritz in 1967 and matched by Jared Cunningham in 2011.
Offensive concerns
Altman said he’s been concerned with the Ducks’ offense all year, and those worries continued on Friday. “We had 11 assists. Our penetration, kicks, we weren’t thinking about making plays for each other,” he added.
Three-D
Guarding the 3-pointer has been a bit of a weakness for the Beavers over the course of the season but, on Friday, the Ducks shot 8 for 29 (27.6 percent) from long range. “They hit a few to start the game where we got lost, but we kept challenging the guys to communicate,” Wayne Tinkle said.
