Field Level Media
Jan 14, 2019
Senior guard Stephen Thompson and sophomore guard Ethan Thompson scored 17 points each as Oregon State used their brother attack to remain undefeated in the Pac-12 Conference with a 79-66 victory Sunday night against visiting UCLA.
Junior forward Kylor Kelley and junior forward Tres Tinkle each had 14 points as the Beavers (11-4, 3-0) won their first three conference games for the first time since the 1992-93 season.
The Beavers also have their best overall record to start a season since the 1989-90 team opened 13-2.
Kris Wilkes had 21 points for UCLA (10-7, 3-1), giving him double digits in points in every Bruins game this season. Wilkes recovered from a slow first half, when he scored just three points and was 1-of-7 from the field.
Stephen Thompson reached the 1,500-point plateau in his career, and he also notched his 200th career 3-pointer. Kelley had five of Oregon State's eight blocks and now has multiple blocked shots in every Oregon State game this season.
The game was tied 16-16 midway through the first half before the Beavers took control with a 10-1 run for a 26-17 lead.
Oregon State led 32-26 at halftime, despite going just 2-of-13 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes. UCLA was just 1-of-8 on 3-pointers in the first half.
UCLA tied the score 45-45 with 13:43 remaining on a jump shot from Jaylen Hands, but Oregon State went on an 18-5 run to take a 63-50 lead with 5:33 remaining. The Beavers were never threatened from there.
Junior guard Prince Ali scored 13 points for the Bruins, who are 3-1 under interim coach Murry Bartow, who took over when Steve Alford was fired on Dec. 31 after UCLA got off to a 7-6 start. Hands added 12 points.
UCLA had a 40-38 rebounding advantage, but the Beavers still led 42-26 on points in the paint.
Oregon State joined Arizona and Washington as the only remaining undefeated Pac-12 teams just two weeks into conference play.
--Field Level Media