OSU picks up much-needed second Pac-12 win

The Beavers have been taking the season one game at a time but this game they knew they had to win.

A loss would have been their fourth in a row and a dagger to the heart of a team trying to build momentum in a wide-open Pac-12 race.

Luckily, for the sake of the Beavers and the 6,000 fans that packed Gill Coliseum on Thursday night, Oregon State (12-7) defeated the UCLA Bruins 87-84.

Coach Robinson walked into the postgame press conference wearing a burnt orange and white checked shirt-a shirt he hadn't worn since the Beavers beat Texas in overtime nearly two months ago. That win was probably the biggest win for the program this season and tonight's win, second.

Robinson shrugged when asked if it was a coincidence or not but everyone in the press conference and everyone in Gill knew that tonight was a must-win game.

"We needed this badly," sophomore forward Devon Collier said.  "We were on a losing streak so we needed to get a win. This one was good for us."

Against a UCLA frontcourt that includes 6-foot-10, 305-pound big man Joshua Smith, Collier had a big game for the Beavers putting up 20 points and grabbing four rebounds. Robinson pointed out that Collier was playing in front of his father and brother who flew in from New York.

"Today he just came out very aggressively," Robinson said of Collier. "When you have a guy who can get points for you like that in the low post it opens up everyone else."

Despite only having five first-half points, junior guard Jared Cunningham showed everyone why he is the Pac-12's leading scorer this season and finished the game with 21 points, 10 of those coming on free throws.

When UCLA was making a comeback late in the second half and Oregon State seemed like it was going to let a slim lead slip away like had in previous games, the Beavers defense finally held tough.

"We just wanted to go out there, play defense, and play hard all the way to the end," Cunningham said. "We made some big plays and everybody stepped up. We got the win tonight and that's what we needed."

Next up for Oregon State is a hungry USC team that currently sits at 0-6 in conference. It would be easy for the Beavers to go flat after the emotional high of winning their second Pac-12 game of the season in such a do-or-die situation.

"I think the biggest thing is the confidence that comes with winning and beating a team that is doing well in our conference. The second thing is execution," Robinson said. "We still have to get better defensively. When you are as efficient as we are on offense, our defense ends up being secondary and instead of it being second we need them to be even."

With the Pac-12 race as wide open as it is, the Beavers hope to ride this little bit of momentum all the way to the bank and maybe even to a ticket in the big dance.

Alex Crawford, sports writer

sports@dailybarometer.com