EUGENE, Ore. — Tres Tinkle scored 16 of his 28 points in the second half and Oregon State held off Pac-12 preseason favorite Oregon 77-72 on Saturday night.
Tinkle limped through most of the second half on an injured left ankle to lead the Beavers (9-4, 1-0) to their first road win in a conference opener in 26 years. The 6-foot-8 junior shot 9 for 15, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, and made all six of his free throws.
Oregon State made its last eight free throws and 19 of 21 overall to hold off a furious rally by the Ducks (9-5, 0-1), who led four times after trailing by 18 points early in the second half.
Zach Reichle’s two free throws put the Beavers up 73-72 with 47 seconds left as they scored the last six points at the foul line.
Ethan Thompson added 13 points for OSU, and Stephen Thompson Jr. had 10. Thompson Jr. and Tinkle had eight rebounds each to help give the Beavers a 38-29 edge on the boards.
Freshman Louis King led Oregon with 17 points and 10 rebounds in just his seventh game. Paul White added 15 points, Payton Pritchard 14 and Victor Bailey Jr. 11.
Trailing by three in the final seconds, King tried a step-back 3-point shot that fell short, and Thompson Jr. secured the rebound and added two more free throws.
The Ducks were down to eight scholarship players after losing Bol Bol for the season to foot surgery, Kenny Wooten for a month to a broken jaw and Abu Kigab forever with his decision to transfer.
Oregon’s full-court press stopped the Beavers cold on three straight inbound plays in the second half during an 8-0 run that cut OSU’s lead to 66-65. The Ducks went ahead for the first time since early in the first half on King’s two free throws with 3:49 left.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon State gets a big boost to start the Pac-12 season with the road win and the return of 6-11 Gligorije Rakocevic from a foot injury. In his second game back, Rakocevic and 7-0 Kylor Kelley combined for 15 points and eight rebounds as the Beavers finished with a 34-30 edge in points in the paint.
Oregon finds itself in scramble mode as it works to adapt to the absence of Bol and Wooten. King, the team’s other five-star recruit, showed more of an offensive threat but finished 6-of-17 shooting. Another freshman, Francis Okoro, started for the second straight game but went scoreless.
UP NEXT
Oregon State hosts USC on Thursday night.
Oregon hosts UCLA on Thursday night.
