Idaho State Bengals vs Oregon St. Beavers Box Score on Dec 21, 2023

Jordan Pope scored a game-high 25 points and added eight assists Thursday as Oregon State shrugged off a slow start to knock off Idaho State 76-57 in Corvallis, Ore.

Dexter Akanno added 16 points for the Beavers (8-3), which improved to 8-0 at home by sinking 50.9 percent of their field goal attempts while holding the Bengals to 35.8 percent shooting. Oregon State was also opportunistic, converting 13 turnovers into 21 points.

Kiree Huie and Maleek Arington each scored 15 points for Idaho State (4-7) but didn't get enough help from their teammates. They combined to make 11 of their 21 attempts but the rest of the roster shot a frigid 8 of 32.

The Bengals never got closer than an 11-point halftime deficit and when they did, the Beavers quickly put them away. Huie hit a mid-range jumper to make it 51-40 with 9:55 remaining but a 10-2 run, capped by Pope's long 3-pointer with 8:06 left, upped the margin to 19 and concluded the game's competitive phase.

Oregon State led by as many as 22 points in the final minute.

Idaho State looked nothing like a team that hadn't played in 12 days during the first four minutes. The Bengals opened up an 11-2 lead before the first TV timeout as Huie scored the first six points.

Oregon State managed only three field goals in the first nine-plus minutes and still trailed 14-8 after a 3-pointer by Arington when it finally found the range. Starting with Tyler Bilodeau's short jumper at the 10:31 mark, the Beavers scored 28 points for the rest of the half.

Pope converted two free throws with 5:44 left to give Oregon State its first lead at 22-21. That was part of a 13-0 run that supplied the Beavers with the necessary separation to make the Bengals chase the game. Pope's 3-pointer with three seconds remaining made it 36-25 at the half.

--Field Level Media