LAS VEGAS – San Jose State men's basketball was held in check Wednesday evening at Orleans Arena as they dropped a non-conference bout with Oregon State in the Continental Las Vegas Classic. The Spartans were held to 29 percent shooting while the Beavers converted 55 percent in the 83-48 final.
After starting off fairly even for the first five minutes, Oregon State (6-1) used their offensive prowess to take control of the contest. The Beavers excelled from 3-point range knocking down 11 treys. They scored 40 percent of the night's points from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, the Spartans weren't able to match that success as they finished just 4-for-25 from deep.
SJSU (3-4) grabbed an early lead thanks to a Christian Anigwe slam to claim an 11-10 advantage at the 14:07 mark, but Oregon State went on a tear and jumped out to a 21-point halftime lead at 45-24. The Beavers shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) with seven triples in the period. On the other side, San Jose State was held to 11-of-28 shooting (39 percent) and committed 11 first half turnovers.
The second half fared little better. The Beavers used a 20-2 run to claim a commanding 76-33 lead. SJSU's shooting woes continued and they went cold for 11:42 of game time until Ralph Agee converted a layup with 4:45 to play.
Sam Japhet-Mathias made the most of his first start in the blue and gold with a team-high 10 points. Anigwe pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds to lead the Spartans in that category. SJSU finished the night with 18 turnovers resulting in 30 points for the Beavers.
Oregon State had five scorers reach double-figures with Ethan Thompson leading the pack with 17 points. Alfred Hollins chipped in 16 points and Tres Tinkle put down 15 points.
With the loss, SJSU turns full attention to UCLA where they will take on the Bruins on Sunday.
