Oregon State Travels to Arizona to Face Arizona State Thursday

Oregon State has dramatically improved its shooting numbers as the Beavers rank among the nation’s best through 12 games.

Salem-News.com Sports

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Winners of six-of-eight and fresh of its first Pac-10 Conference win of the season, the Oregon State men’s basketball team returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 8th, when the Beavers travel to Tempe, Ariz., to take on No. 16 Arizona State at 7:37 PM.

The game will be televised by FSN NW in Oregon and southwest Washington and will also be available on FCS Pacific throughout the country. Fans can listen to the game over the Beaver Sports Radio Network with Mike Parker providing the call.

Oregon State snapped a 21-game losing streak in Pac-10 Conference play its last time out as the Beavers defeated USC, 62-58 in overtime. Roeland Schaftenaar led the way in the victory with 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in the victory. Schaftenaar hit a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining to force overtime as the Beavers would pull away late to snap the league skid.

Calvin Haynes scored four straight points to break a 57-57 tie in overtime as the sophomore guard finished the game with 17 points and leads the team at 17.8 points per game. Haynes has scored in double figures in every contest since his return to the line-up against Nebraska.

No. 16 Arizona State enters the week with a record of 12-2 overall, 1-1 in league play after defeating Stanford before falling to Cal. The Beavers lead the all-time series against the Sun Devils, 38-33; however, Arizona State holds a 21-12 advantage in games played in Tempe.

SCOUTING THE ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS

Arizona State, led by head coach Herb Sendek, enters the contest with Oregon State with a record of 12-2 on the season, 1-1 in conference play, as the Trojans opened league play with a 30-point win over Stanford before dropping an 81-71 decision against Cal on Sunday.

National player of the year candidate James Harden leads four players in double figures for Arizona State, averaging 23.4 points per contest. Jeff Pendergraph ranks second on the team in scoring with 14.3 points per game. Rihards Kuksiks (10.6) and Ty Abbott (10.2) are also in double figures for the Sun Devils.

Arizona State leads the league and ranks third in the nation with a field goal percentage of 51.0 percent while holding opponents to just 40.2 percent from the floor.

THE ARIZONA STATE SERIES

This is the 72nd meeting between Arizona State and Oregon State with the Beavers leading the series, 38-33. Arizona State has won both meetings last season; however, Oregon State has won four-of-five. Arizona State holds a 21-12 edge in games played in Tempe.

RICKEY CLAITT PLAYING WELL

Senior Rickey Claitt has had a solid start to his senior season as the guard as stepped into a leadership role for the Beavers. Heading into Sunday, Claitt ranks third on the team with 8.4 points per game. The workhorse has played nearly every minute for the Beavers this season as he ranks fourth in the Pac-10 Conference at 34.7 minutes per game.

One area in which Claitt has dramatically improved has been from the field, where the senior is currently hitting 60.8 percent of his shots including an impressive 51.6 percent from behind the arc (16-of-31).

The senior has already established numerous career highs as Claitt scored a career-high 21 points against Montana State. Claitt surpassed his previous career best of 11 points in the first half alone, scoring 13. Claitt followed it up by going a perfect 5-of-5 from the field in the win against Fresno State, including a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc.

CALVIN HAYNES OFF TO A FAST START

Sophomore Calvin Haynes has had a fast start since returning to the Oregon State line-up in the win against Nebraska as the guard has averaged 17.8 points through six games. After scoring 14 in the win against Nebraska, Haynes came off the bench to score 20 points against Seattle Pacific while playing a career-high 33 minutes. In reaching double figures in every game since his return, Haynes registered a career high with 24 points against Seattle. Through six games, Haynes has shot 58.5 percent (38-of-65) from the field while hitting 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from behind the three-point arc.

NOTES ON THE WIN AGAINST USC

There were a number of notables in the Oregon State win over USC, primarily the victory over the Trojans snapped a 21-game Pac-10 Conference losing streak, snapped a 23-game losing streak against conference opponents and ended a nine-game losing streak in overtime games.

Below is a list of other items of interest in Oregon State’s victory over the Trojans.

TEAM NOTES AGAINST USC

• Head coach Craig Robinson recorded his sixth career victory at Oregon State and his first career Pac-10 win.

• With the win, the Beavers snapped a 21-game Pac-10 losing streak, a 23-game streak against Pac-10 opponents and a nine game overtime losing streak. The last time the Beavers beat a Pac-10 opponent was Feb. 22, 2007, against Washington in Corvallis. The last time the Beavers won an overtime game was Dec. 6, 2003, over Kansas State in three overtimes.

• In the second half Oregon State, shot 71.4 percent from 3-point range (5-for-7) and 56.5 percent from the field (12-for-23). • Oregon State held USC to a season-low 58 points.

• In overtime, Oregon State was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and hit its only 3-point attempt.

• Oregon State held USC to just 14 percent from the field in overtime (1-for-7).

• The Beavers overcame a 15-point second half deficit with 12 minutes to go to force overtime. Roeland Schaftenaar hit a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left to force the overtime period.

PLAYER NOTES AGAINST USC

• Junior Roeland Schaftenaar tied his career best by scoring a game high 18 points (3-for-6 3-pt), marking the third time Schaftenaar has scored in double-figures this season.

• Schaftenaar tied his career best in assists with six (tied game high), set a career best in minutes played with 40, and set season bests with seven rebounds and three steals (tied game high).

• Senior Rickey Claitt set a career best with three steals (tied game high).

• Sophomore Calvin Haynes scored 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting making for double-digit scoring performances in each of the six games he has played in this season.

• Haynes played a career high 35 minutes and recorded a season best four assists.

• Sophomore Omari Johnson recorded his sixth double-digit scoring performance of the season with 11 points, shooting perfect from the field (4-for-4; 2-for-2 3-pt).

OREGON STATE RANKS AMONG NATION’S BEST IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

After struggling from the field last season, early indicators show the new offensive system in place has allowed Oregon State to dramatically improve its shooting numbers as the Beavers rank among the nation’s best through 12 games. Entering this contest against Arizona State, Oregon State is shooting 48.8 percent and ranks fourth in the Pac-10 and 17th in the NCAA.

The Beavers shot 50.0 percent (25-of-50) from the field in the victory over USC, marking the sixth time this season Oregon State has shot 50 percent or better from the field. In fact, the Beavers have shot 58 percent or better from the floor on three occasions this season. Last year, Oregon State shot 50 percent or better on only two occasions.

UP NEXT...

Oregon State returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 10, when the Beavers travel to Tucson, Ariz., to face Arizona at 1:00 p.m. The game will be televised by FSN NW.

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