Oregon State has relied on defense over its past two games and looks to move back above .500 when it faces Denver on Wednesday night at Corvallis, Ore.
The Beavers (6-6) allowed an average of 57 points while beating Seattle 73-58 on Thursday and Green Bay 65-56 on Sunday.
Oregon State held Seattle to 33.9 percent shooting from the field and limited Green Bay to 41.3 percent.
The strong outings came after the Beavers allowed more than 70 points on four occasions during a span in which they lost six of seven games.
“I think we’re going to go back to the drawing board, for sure, and see what we can develop on,” Oregon State guard Justin Rochelin said after the victory over Green Bay. “I think this is a good group, still. I think our guys want to play defense. I think we’re going to be good in the long run.”
The Beavers have already won twice the number of games they did last season when they bottomed out with a 3-28 record.
Glenn Taylor Jr. scored 20 points against Green Bay for his second-highest output of the season and his career. He ranks second on the Beavers with a 12.2 average, trailing Jordan Pope (13.8).
Denver (9-4) has dropped three of its past four games after a strong start.
The Pioneers opened Summit League play on Monday and sustained an 83-66 road loss against Omaha.
Denver shot 52 percent from the floor but was harmed by 15 turnovers. Leading scorer Tommy Bruner committed seven of the miscues.
Pioneers coach Jeff Wulbrun was disappointed with the second half when his squad was outscored 46-29.
“There are two things,” Wulbrun said of troubling issues. “The lack of valuing the basketball — we’re too damn careless. The second is toughness in one-on-one defending.”
Bruner averages 15.7 points and also leads the team in assists (4.6). Bruner and Justin Mullins (12.5) shared team-high scoring honors with 15 points against Omaha.
Tevin Smith (13.1) returned from a knee injury to score five points in 15 minutes against Omaha. He missed the previous six games.
Oregon State has won two of the previous three meetings but Denver won the most recent one, 54-53 at home during the 2000-01 campaign.
–Field Level Media
