CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) Tres Tinkle had 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Oregon State beat Cal State Northridge 87-67 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.
Kylor Kelley added 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Beavers, who return three starters from last season’s squad that finished 18-13 and tied for fourth in the Pac-12.
Terrell Gomez led Cal State Northridge with 19 points. Lamine Diane, the Big West Conference Player of the Year as a freshman last season, is currently ineligible and did not accompany the team.
Ethan Thompson had 14 points and Zach Reichle scored 13 points for OSU.
The Matadors kept things interesting in the second half and cut the lead to 63-57 on Gomez’s 3-pointer with 10:06 left.
But the Beavers responded with a 17-2 run to take command.
Tinkle scored 15 first-half points and the Beavers led 45-31 at the break. Darius Brown II scored 10 points to pace the Matadors, who made just 11 of 36 field goals (30.6 percent) against OSU’s man-to-man defense.
Payton Dastrup’s layup on an assist from Tinkle culminated an 11-0 run and extended the lead to 25-14 midway through the first half.
The Matadors took their only lead at 9-6 on three 3-pointers, but they cooled off from behind the arc.
OSU finished shooting 46 percent (29 of 63) from the field compared to 38.3 percent for the Matadors (23 of 60), who were outrebounded 45-35 by the taller Beavers.
It was the third matchup between OSU and Cal State Northridge and the first meeting since the 1997-98 season. The Beavers are 3-0 in the series.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon State: The Beavers weren’t seriously challenged by a Big West Conference opponent missing its best player. More difficult tests await in their next two games against Iowa State and Oklahoma.
Cal State Northridge: The Matadors will be without Diane for at least the nonconference slate. He averaged 24.8 points and 11.2 rebounds last season, and that kind of production is difficult to replace.
UP NEXT
Oregon State hosts Iowa State on Saturday. Cal State Northridge plays at New Mexico on Saturday.
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