Beavers takes advantage of Cougars' woes for victory.

Byline: STEVE MIMS The Register-Guard

CORVALLIS - It's been a little while since Oregon State found itself in the role of favorite in a Pac-10 game, much less a double-digit favorite on the betting line.

But with a battered Washington State team in town, the Beavers did as they expected, beating the Cougars 63-48 on Thursday night in men's basketball in front of 5,346 at Gill Coliseum.

"It feels good, but I thought we should beat them anyway, so I'm not too excited," senior guard Jimmie Haywood said.

After five straight losses to open conference play, the Beavers gave Jay John his first Pac-10 win as a head coach.

"I remember how many days it's been since we last won," said John, whose Beavers had not won since Dec. 28. "It doesn't matter if it is a conference game or not, it is nice to get on the winning side. I hope the guys feel a little better tonight than they did in the last couple of weeks."

Philip Ricci had his third straight double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds to lead OSU. Haywood added 13 points, and Brian Jackson had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Washington State, which has been hit hard by injuries, shot 26.6 percent from the field but hung with the Beavers for nearly 30 minutes before OSU pulled away. WSU was playing without five injured regulars, including Marcus Moore, who averages 19.3 points per game.

"They were missing some scorers, but you still have to guard them," John said. "We played with energy, put some pressure on the ball, and did a good job of that."

Washington State shot just 30 percent in the first half, but trailed by only seven points. Things got no better in the second half as the Cougars made 8-of-34 attempts to leave them 17-for-64 for the game.

"I think we got winded, but we couldn't get the ball in the bucket," WSU coach Paul Graham said.

Oregon State hit 13-of-23 shots in the second half to finish at 46.9 percent for the game.

"We are a grind-it-out offensive team, so for us to gain control, it has to be with defense, hustle and rebounding," John said.

OSU led 41-35 before an 11-2 run gave the Beavers some separation. OSU scored on five straight possessions at one point during the spurt, with J.S. Nash providing some heroics.

Nash threw a no-look pass to Ricci, who converted a layup, and then Nash hit a jumper to give OSU a 46-35 lead with 10:43 left in the game.

After a dunk by WSU's Cedrick Hughey, Haywood buried a three-pointer for OSU, then Nash had his second spectacular assist when he went behind his back to find Jackson for a layup that put OSU ahead 51-37 with 9:38 remaining.

"(Nash) sparked the crowd," Ricci said. "That felt good, and after that we were able to play like we do in practice."

The Cougars, who fell to 0-7 in conference play, were led by Chris Schlatter and Thomas Kelati, who had 12 points apiece. Hughey added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

John continued to rely more on his reserves than he did early in the season, as 12 Beavers got on the court in the first half alone. The bench contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds.

"We've tried to tweak things a bit to ensure we have some rested people on defense," John said. "Our bench brought some energy."

Nash had eight points and four rebounds off the bench, and starting point guard Lamar Hurd had a team-high five assists. Oregon State made 23 shots from the field, and had 20 assists.

The Beavers had been outrebounded in five of their past six games, but had 46 rebounds, compared with 35 for the Cougars. OSU matched a season high with eight blocked shots, including three by Jackson.

The game started slowly as both teams combined to miss their first seven shots, and then traded the lead back and forth before the Beavers scored nine consecutive points late in the half to take a 30-23 advantage.

Jackson gave OSU the lead for good at 23-21 with a pair of free throws with 3:42 left in the first half.

Hurd scored on a drive, then Nash added a pair of free throws to put the Beavers ahead 27-21.

Ricci closed out the Beavers' run with a three-point play that put OSU ahead 30-23 with 1:20 left to play in the first half.

WASHINGTON STATE (48)

Mp Fg Ft R F A To S Tp

Hughey ... 28 5-14 0-2 8 2 1 1 0 10

Kordsmeier ... 20 2-7 0-2 2 2 0 0 0 5

Schlatter ... 33 3-12 4-4 3 3 1 1 1 12

Graham ... 14 0-1 1-2 2 1 0 0 1 1

Kelati ... 35 4-10 2-5 7 1 2 3 1 12

McNair ... 19 1-9 2-2 2 3 1 0 0 4

Green ... 18 0-3 0-0 1 0 2 0 2 0

Stasiak ... 24 2-5 0-0 2 1 1 0 0 4

Bellegarde ... 9 0-3 0-0 4 3 1 0 0 0

Totals ... 200 17-64 9-17 35 16 9 7 5 48

Shooting: Field goals 26.6%, Blocks - 2 (Schlatter 1, Bellegarde 1), 3-point baskets - 5-21 (Kordsmeier 1-5, Schlatter 2-6, Graham 0-1, Kelati 2-5, McNair 0-3, Green 0-1). Totals include four team rebounds and two team turnovers.

OREGON STATE (63)

Mp Fg Ft R F A To S Tp

Jackson ... 29 4-8 3-7 10 1 0 2 0 11

Ricci ... 31 7-10 3-5 15 0 3 1 1 17

North ... 16 0-3 0-0 3 1 2 1 0 0

Hurd ... 30 3-4 0-0 5 3 5 1 1 6

Haywood ... 27 4-9 2-4 1 3 3 2 0 13

Remmers ... 12 0-4 2-2 0 2 2 0 0 2

Vance ... 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Cokley ... 4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Stephens ... 11 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0

Nash ... 21 3-6 2-2 1 1 4 3 1 8

Potter ... 3 0-0 1-2 3 1 0 0 0 1

Lucas ... 11 2-2 1-2 4 2 0 1 0 5

Field ... 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals ... 200 23-49 14-23 46 16 20 12 3 63

Shooting: Field goals 46.9%, Blocks - 8 (Jackson 3, Ricci 2, Nash 1, Lucas 2), 3-point baskets - 3-16 (Jackson 0-1, Ricci 0-1, North 0-1, Haywood 3-5, Remmers 0-4, Cokley 0-1, Stephens 0-2, Nash 0-1). Total includes four team rebounds.

Washington State ... 23 25 - 48

Oregon State ... 30 33 - 63

Officials - Tommy Nunez, Quinn Crozier, Deron White. Attendance - 5,346.