CORVALLIS, Ore. — Joe Burton scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Oregon State to a 78-65 win over Montana State Sunday.
Oregon State’s 6-7 senior forward triggered the game’s key stretch late in the first half. With Montana State trailing 34-29 after Antonio Biglow’s free throw at the 3:46 mark, Burton converted a layup to push the OSU lead to seven, and a minute later hit another layup to extend the Beavers’ lead to 39-29. After MSU trimmed the lead to eight, Burton, Langston Morris-Walker and Ahmad Starks each hit short-range baskets to send OSU into the intermission with a 45-31 lead.
“That’s a talented team,” said Bobcat coach Brad Huse. “They’re long, athletic – we’re not going to see a team that long and athletic again in the regular season. I thought our guys competed right to the wire. We had a couple chances to hit a three and cut the lead down, but it just didn’t happen. But we continued to attack.”
Biglow led the Bobcats with 14 points, while Flavien Davis scored 12 and Xavier Blount added 10. Oregon State shot 46.8 percent from the field, and held Montana State to 30 percent shooting. The Beavers out-rebounded MSU 51-to-42. Each team got serious work done on the offensive glass, with Oregon State grabbing 19 of its own misses and MSU 20. MSU converted those second-chance possessions into 24 points.
Huse liked his team’s aggressive play, particularly on the defense after the intermission, when MSU held the Beavers to 35.7 percent shooting. “Our defensive presence was way better in the second half. They scored 45 (points) in the first half, and they had (11) of those in the last four minutes. Their athletic ability really strained our defense, but our guys stuck to the game play really well and I think in the second half that was the difference.”
Montana State falls to 1-3 on the season, with all three losses coming on the road. Oregon State is now 4-1. The Bobcats return to Bozeman to host Pepperdine in a men’s-women’s doubleheader Thursday at 8 pm, before hosting San Jose State in a basketball-football doubleheader Saturday at 12 noon.
— MSU Sports Information
