Northwest University @ Oregon St. preview
Gill Coliseum
Oregon State is hoping newcomer Warith Alatishe's second impression is as good as his first when the Beavers host Northwest University of Washington in a nonconference game Friday afternoon.
The clubs were supposed to meet on Wednesday on the first day of a four-team, two-day event, but the schedule had to be reworked when Colorado State was forced to withdraw because of COVID-19 issues.
Instead, Northwest made its season debut Thursday in an 86-61 loss to California (1-1) on Oregon State's home court in Corvallis, Ore.
The Beavers (1-0) and Golden Bears were rescheduled to meet on Wednesday, with Oregon State prevailing 71-63 behind 16 points by Alatishe and 15 from standout returner Ethan Thompson.
Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle might have inadvertently taken a shot at Northwest, an NAIA school, when describing the competitiveness of the opener against Cal.
"You know what? After the amount of time off (and) the fact that we were a little short on depth tonight with injuries to three guys that couldn't play, we couldn't have asked for a better thing," he said after the win. "This is way better for us than a 30-point win against whoever it would have been."
The 6-foot-7 Alatishe, a transfer from Nicholls State, also contributed eight rebounds to the win. Oregon State prevailed without guards Gianni Hunt and Tariq Silver, both out due to injuries, and for the most part without big man Dearon Tucker, who was limited to six minutes by a sore ankle.
Tinkle said after the game that he hopes to have his squad at full strength next week.
In Northwest, the Beavers will see a team that scheduled its first Pacific-12 Conference opponent in the Thursday loss to Cal. The Eagles were competitive for about six minutes, then saw a six-point deficit turn into a 29-7 hole after a 16-0 Cal run.
Northwest was led by Dejwan. Walker with 12 points, but he shot just 5-for-17 from the field. Cacoa Chatman (10) and Pa'Treon Lee (10) also scored in double figures for the Eagles in their opener.
Northwest coach Jeff Drinkwine has made one thing clear: While knocking off a Pac-12 team would be great, it's not his team's top priority this week. The games against Division I competition are considered exhibitions for the Eagles.
"Our goals are to stay healthy, get better every week and grow as a family unit," he said. "(This) will help us to compete for the conference championship and compete for a chance to get to the national tournament."
--Field Level Media