CORVALLIS — Oregon State produced its worst home court performance in four years as Santa Clara handed the Beavers a 102-64 loss Sunday at Gill Coliseum.
The West Coast Conference men’s opener for both teams wasn’t competitive for most the game. The Beavers trailed by 33 points at halftime and by as many as 40 points during the second half.
It was the worst loss at Gill since UCLA beat Oregon State 94-55 in 2022. It was the first time the Beavers have given up more than 100 points to an opponent in regulation since 2011, a 103-72 loss at Washington.
Josiah Lake II scored 19 points and Dez White 14 to lead Oregon State (7-7, 0-1 WCC). Santa Clara forward Elijah Mahi scored 23 to lead the Broncos (10-4, 1-0), who never trailed in the game and had six players in double-figure scoring.
“Brutal, brutal game,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. “They took it to us.”
With OSU trailing 24-10, Beavers guard Keziah Ekissi hit a three-pointer to end a 7-0 Santa Clara run. But the Broncos didn’t lose stride and responded with a 12-0 run to go up 36-13.
Oregon State, which trailed 53-20 at halftime, couldn’t find the offense or defensive stops to climb back into the game.
“We didn’t guard, we didn’t rebound, and they just put us on our heels offensively,” Tinkle said. “We just dug ourselves too big of a hole.”
Oregon State, which shot 28% during the first half, improved on offense slightly in the second half and finished the game shooting 36%.
Santa Clara shot 63%, including 15-for-27 from three. The Broncos outscored the Beavers 38-14 in the paint, 24-14 off turnovers, and 16-5 on fast breaks. Santa Clara finished the game with a 33-22 rebounding edge.
“[The Broncos] were very efficient, and they took advantage of all our breakdowns defensively and made us pay,” Tinkle said. “They shot lights out, they got to the rim at will and finished, and they got to the free throw line.”
Oregon State’s best offensive stretch came early in the second half, and Beavers used an 8-0 run to make the score 67-45 with 12:44 left in the game.
But 22 points was as close as the Beavers got before Santa Clara regained its footing.
Oregon State plays San Francisco at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home as it looks for its first conference win of 2025-26.
“We have to come in with a different mentality, figure out what that is,” Lake said. “I have to do a better job of finding what that is. That’s my responsibility to search for that in the next 24 hours to make sure we’re ready to go on Tuesday.”
