Long Beach St. @ Oregon St. preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 18, 2017 ) Long Beach St. 81, Oregon St. 89

Oregon State will attempt to knock off Long Beach State for the second time in a seven-day period when the teams meet in the consolation round of the AdvoCare Invitational on Friday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The Beavers, who held off the 49ers 89-81 on Nov. 18, coughed up an eight-point lead in the final seven-plus minutes of their 82-77 first-round loss to St. John’s on Thursday.

Junior forward Drew Eubanks recorded 26 points and 11 rebounds while Oregon State shot 55.4 percent from the field in the victory over Long Beach State last week, but the Beavers turned the ball over 21 times Thursday. The Beavers allowed only 37.9 percent shooting and led by as many as 10 in the second half before wearing down against the pressure of St. John’s despite a big effort from junior guard Stephen Thompson Jr., who scored a season-high 22. Oregon State will need a 40-minute effort against Long Beach State, which scored 50 points in the second half of the first meeting and drained 9-of-20 from 3-point range before struggling to a 95-58 loss to Missouri in the first round Thursday. “We didn’t prepare well. We didn’t compete very well. We didn’t defend well,” Long Beach coach Dan Monson told reporters.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, ESPN3

ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE (2-3): Senior Gabe Levin recorded 12 points and seven rebounds in the first-round loss and the 49ers’ other All-Big West preseason selection Temidayo Yussuf made his season debut after missing the first four games with a knee injury. Yussuf, who averaged 9.4 points last season as a sophomore, managed to play only six minutes while missing one shot and fouling out. Gonzaga transfer Bryan Alberts scored eight in the opener and leads the team in scoring (14.8) with Levin (14.0) and senior forward Barry Ogalue (11.8) also averaging in double figures.

ABOUT OREGON STATE (2-2): Thompson (15.8 points per game) had made one of his 15 attempts from 3-point range in the first three games before draining 4-of-8 from behind the arc against St. John’s. Thompson’s freshman brother Ethan added 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field in the loss for the Beavers, who are having no trouble scoring but are allowing 80 per game along 41.1 percent shooting from behind the arc. Sophomore forward Tres Tinkle tops the team in scoring (19.5) and rebounding (7.8) while Eubanks, a 6-10 junior, is next with 17.8 and 7.3, respectively.

TIP-INS

1. Each of Oregon State’s starters played at least 31 minutes Thursday and the Beavers’ bench was 2-for-7 from the field.

2. Long Beach State junior G KJ Byers scored a season-high 10 points in the first round after totaling 13 in the first four games.

3. The Beavers drained 11-of-24 from 3-point range and 22-of-25 from the free-throw line Thursday - both marking their best percentages of the season.

PREDICTION: Oregon State 77, Long Beach State 68