Oregon State will look to get back to winning on Thursday, hosting Samford at Corvallis, Ore., after losing consecutive games on the road against Iowa State and Tulsa.
The Beavers (1-2) are in the process of adjusting to players with new roles after last year’s magical run to the Elite Eight.
The departure of veteran leaders Ethan Thompson and Zach Reichle has made it a challenge for coach Wayne Tinkle to establish players this season to take on the same responsibility.
The 64-58 loss Monday at Tulsa occurred after the Beavers went on a 7-0 run to close the gap to 60-58. Oregon State failed to score in the last 47 seconds.
Rodrigue Andela had his best game of the season with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Gianni Hunt finished with five points, six rebounds and a career-high-tying six assists.
Jarod Lucas made three 3-pointers for his nine points while Warith Alatishe had seven points, five rebounds and three assists.
Any of those players can lead Oregon State at any time.
“Good leaders just hang in there and keep pushing for their guys,” Tinkle said.
“Hopefully the sooner we understand that depth is our strength, as long as everybody’s being productive, then that’s when I think we’ll really start to turn the corner and take big steps.”
Samford (2-1) lost 77-55 at San Francisco on Monday despite a career-high 24 points from Ques Glover, a transfer from Florida. He made 8 of 15 shots from the field and finished with four rebounds.
Glover leads the Bulldogs averaging 18.3 points a game. Wesley Cardet is next at 13.3 points a game and Jermaine Marshall is averaging 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds a game.
Bucky McMillan is in his first full season as Samford’s head coach after coming on board last season when COVID-19 altered schedules. He previously coached at the high school level at Mountain Brook, Ala.
The 55 points scored at San Francisco do not fit McMillan’s up-tempo style. The Bulldogs made only 19 of their 58 shots (32.8 percent).
“We’re a pressure team and we’re going to get out in transition and we’re going to try to play in the 90s,” McMillan said. “I don’t know of another way to play.”
–Field Level Media
