Tinkle leads Beavers past Prairie View A&M
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) Tres Tinkle missed the final five games of last season with a foot injury, including Oregon State's loss in the NCAA Tournament.
He was cleared for basketball activities just three weeks ago, and after playing on Friday night, Tinkle said his foot felt fine.
''Regardless of my foot or anything like that, I'm going to be sore no matter what. I'll just get treatment, stretch and I'll be good to go,'' said Tinkle, the team's leading returning scorer and rebounder from 2015-16.
Tinkle had 20 points and 15 rebounds and Drew Eubanks added 14 points, eight rebounds and tied a school record with seven blocks in the season opener Friday night as Oregon State cruised past Prairie View A&M, 78-58.
JaQuori McLaughlin, playing his first college game, scored 12 points off the bench for the Beavers.
''It's great to get that first win,'' said Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle, Tres Tinkle's father.
Daquan Cook had 14 points and four steals and L.J. Westbrook scored 13 points for the Panthers.
Both teams shot poorly, but Oregon State made 37 of 49 free throws, while the Panthers only went to the line 17 times in the game. The Beavers also outrebounded the Panthers 48-33.
The Beavers went on a 17-2 run, capped by a pair of Cheikh N'diaye free throws, to take a 25-11 lead with 6:10 left in the first half.
Oregon State led 36-22 at the break and was ahead by double digits the entire second half.
BIG PICTURE
Prairie View A&M: The Panthers started last season 1-18 before Byron Smith was named interim coach, and led the squad to a 6-6 finish. The team is now officially Smith's. . Three of the top four scorers for Prairie View A&M on Friday were transfer students.
Oregon State: The Beavers must replace the production of Gary Payton II, now in the NBA D-League, to make the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. Last season, Payton led Oregon State in points, rebounds, assists and steals. . Payton also holds the school record with seven blocks.
BANNER YEAR: A banner with Oregon State's NCAA appearances had a new entry and was raised to the rafters before the game, which Wayne Tinkle said was ''pretty cool,'' especially since there was a gap between 1990 and 2016. ''There was a lot of coaches and players during that time that were giving it their all and just for whatever reason didn't get that opportunity,'' he said.
DRIBBLE PENETRATION: Smith said the Beavers' dribble penetration helped lead to the disparity in free throws. ''I think we were probably using our hands way too much. They were really able to penetrate and get into the teeth of our defense,'' he added.
NEW FACES: This year's Panthers' squad is far different in last season, in part because the culture has changed, Smith said. But there also are plenty of different faces. ''We've got eight or nine new players we're trying to work in from all over the country, just trying to develop our chemistry,'' he said.�
UP NEXT
Prairie View A&M plays Saturday at Fresno State, the Mountain West Conference's defending champion. The Panthers open the season with four road games.
Oregon State looks for a second win to start the season versus Texas-San Antonio on Sunday in Corvallis. The Roadrunners lost 69-66 to Fresno State on Friday night.