Oregon State
DePaul
Robbins Gets Career-High 27 in 90-59 Rout
December 19, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Victor Robbins poured in a career-high 27 points and Oregon State matched its best home start in 10 years by crushing DePaul 90-59 at Gill Coliseum on Thursday night before a crowd of 3,906.
A junior from Compton, Calif., Robbins was 9-of-15 from the field and made all seven of his free throws in establishing a career high for the second game in a row. He set his previous best of 22 against Grambling this past Monday.
The Beavers (8-2) are 7-0 at Gill for the first time since the 2004-05 club also started 7-0 before losing to No. 3 Arizona. The 1998-99 team won its first 10 home games; the 1979-80 team was 13-0 at home; the 1981-82 and 1983-84 teams went 11-0 at home.
Junior forward Olaf Schaftenaar hit two 3-pointers scored 11 points in the first four minutes and finished with a career-high 21 points. Junior guard Gary Payton II added 15 points, sophomore guard Malcolm Duvivier had 11 and freshman guard Tanner Sanders added eight points off the bench as the Beavers won their fifth game in a row.
“We really set the tone at the start with our defense, and we really shared the ball,” OSU associate head coach Kerry Rupp said. “We had some excellent passes, got some easy shots and got everybody involved.
“They took bad shots, which let us get out and run a bit,” leading to a 12-0 advantage in fast-break points. “We did a good job against their pressure. Whatever they threw at us, we had an answer.”
The Beavers never trailed in avenging last year's 93-81 loss and defeating DePaul (6-5) for the first time in three career meetings. They got their first double-digit lead (16-6) with 13:40 left in the first half and the Blue Demons never got closer than nine points thereafter.
OSU led 48-28 at halftime and eventually led by 34 points in the second half.
The Beavers outscored DePaul 42-24 in the paint, 19-4 off turnovers and 15-12 on second-chance points. OSU also outrebounded the Blue Demons 39-28, as Langston Morris-Walker matched his career high with 10 boards and set a career best with eight assists.
The Beavers held DePaul to 34 percent shooting overall (18-53) and 20 percent on 3-pointers. It was the fifth straight game, and the seventh time overall, that opponents shot 35 percent or less from the field.
“Coach (Gregg) Gottlieb had a great game plan, he really understood what they were going to do and we really defended the 3-point line,” Rupp said. “That was a big thing, they shoot well and we really paid attention to that.
“We're really proud. We put 90 points on the board, got a big team win. These guys come hungry and driven every day and want to get better, and want to bring it on game night.
“It's one thing for one guy to get ready, but when you have a group of guys who all have a competitive spirit and want to compete on every possession, that's when you have a good team … guys who want to be pushed and challenged and we've got that going for us right now.”
The Beavers now head east to Hamden, Conn., play Quinnipiac at 10 a.m. Sunday in their final game before the holiday break. Their next home game is Dec. 30, against UC Santa Barbara.
Oregon State is offering an exclusive #Commit2Wayne ticket plan that provides fans with season tickets for a flat $199 (tickets were $364 last season). The price will gradually step up the following seasons ($249, $299, $349) but remain affordable, and there is no obligation to commit to all four years.
Season tickets will be $349 next year and beyond for fans who do not take advantage of this unique opportunity this year. Fans can secure their season tickets for a $25 deposit by calling 800-GO-BEAVS or visiting beavertickets.com.
