CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) While proud of an 8-1 start, the Oregon State Beavers know that the important games lie ahead.
“It’s all about building momentum toward conference play, and not taking steps back. So, building one little small block at a time,” coach Wayne Tinkle said. “We know there’s a lot in front of us, and quite honestly, if we were 3-6 we’d be saying the same thing. Everything’s still in front of us.”
Tres Tinkle had 26 points and the Oregon State Beavers stretched their winning streak to six straight games with an 80-46 rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday.
The Beavers are off to their best start since the 1984-85 season when they opened 15-1. The team has their longest winning streak since 1992-93, when they won seven straight.
Ethan Thompson added 21 points for the Beavers, who led by as many as 36 points.
Oregon State had not played in 13 days. The Beavers’ last game was an 81-76 victory over Portland State on Dec. 1.
“I think having a break didn’t really have an impact on us,” said freshman guard Jarod Lucas, who came off the bench with 12 points. “The coaches do a good job, as well as all the training people, to make sure we’re in good shape. I felt like it wasn’t even a break.”
Marquell Carter had 13 points and Daquan Morris added 11 for Arkansas Pine-Bluff, which fell to 1-8 on the season. The team’s lone win was on Nov. 25 against Champion Christian, an independent member of the Association of Christian College Athletics.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff has a brutal December with six road games and two Pac-12 opponents. In addition to Oregon State, the Golden Lions will play Washington State on Dec. 29.
It was never really a contest. Oregon State jumped out to a 23-2 lead. Morris scored on a layup for the Golden Lions to open the game, then the Beavers went on a 23-0 run capped by Ethan Thompson’s back-to-back 3-pointers.
The run ended when Morris made a 3-pointer for UAPB. The Golden Lions missed 10-straight shots.
Oregon State went on to lead by 45-18 at the break. Tinkle led all scorers with 17 points. Morris led Arkansas-Pine-Bluff at the break with eight points.
Tinkle went into the game with an average of 21.4 points a game to lead the Pac-12. Kylor Kelley, who leads the nation with an average of 4.5 blocks per game, finished with seven against UAPB, tying his season-high.
Despite the blowout, Coach Wayne Tinkle kept his starters in, most likely because of the team’s extended time off. Oregon State is on the road next week for two games in Texas.
“My thought process going into this game was setting the tone. And if we played the way we expected us to play, to use some minutes to look at different things and different combinations,” coach Tinkle said.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas-Pine Bluff: The Golden Lions play 11 of their 12 nonconference games on the road. … UAPB coach George Ivory will be inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame on Dec. 20. A standout at Mississippi Valley State, Ivory is in his 12th season as coach of the with the Golden Lions.
Oregon State: A rule prohibits the Beavers from scheduling games during finals week, which was last week, and one of the reasons for the long layoff. … The point spread on the game was 27 points.
QUOTABLE
“These guys are a hungry group. They’re a group with an edge, a little bit of a chip. We feel like we’ve got a pretty good team here,” said coach Tinkle.
UP NEXT
Arkansas-Pine Bluff visits New Mexico State on Wednesday.
Oregon State goes on the road to face Texas-San Antonio at The Battleground 2k19 in Houston.
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