Corvallis, OR – Portland State still hasn't solved the Rubik's Cube that is Oregon State. But on Tuesday night they appeared to be just a few turns away from completion. Instead, the Beavers came roaring back and took down the Vikings, 73-64, at Gill Coliseum.
 
Portland State has never beaten Oregon State in 16 tries, but has been remarkably close numerous times in the past decade. This might have been the best chance. The Vikings led by 11 points with 13:01 to play. Then OSU, an Elite Eight participant last season, turned it on. The Beavers made a 12-0 run, finally grabbed the lead and pulled away in the final minutes.
 
The game marked the debut for Head Coach Jase Coburn. He had his Vikings ready. They led for 25 of the first 30 minutes in the contest. However, they made only six of their final 23 shots in the game. Oregon State countered by making 12 of their last 16.
 
"I'm really proud of this team," Coburn said. "This group has a really competitive spirit. They competed the whole game, we just had one rough stretch where they went on a run. We needed stops and didn't get them."
 
Portland State was led by 16 points from senior forward Khalid Thomas. Newcomer James Jean-Marie, also a senior, had a double-double in his first game as a Viking, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 boards. Marlon Ruffin, a junior newcomer, added 11 points for PSU.
 
Warith Alatishe scored 21 points with eight rebounds for the Beavers.  Jarod Lucas added 16 points. He hit back-to-back three-pointers to ignite the 12-0 run and the Gill Coliseum crowd.
 
"He got loose a couple of times. We didn't want that because he is really good at catching the ball and firing it. We knew going into the game we needed to stop that and we did a good job in the first half, but he got loose a couple times and made us pay," said Coburn.
 
Oregon State made 5-9 three-pointers in the second half after making only 1-5 in the first half.
 
First-game jitters were apparent for both teams at the start of the game. They combined for 16 turnovers in the opening 12 minutes. The Vikings had 12 turnovers by halftime, leading to 11 OSU points. But that was the only place the Beavers appeared to have an advantage.
 
Jean-Marie was strong on the glass with six first-half rebounds. Ruffin had eight points in his first action as a Viking, and Thomas pitched in seven. However, the highlight came at the halftime buzzer when Ian Burke splashed a half-court shot for a 32-28 Viking lead.
 
Early in the second half, Thomas tossed in a three-pointer. A moment later a Jean-Marie put back gave the Vikings a 40-31 lead. Jean-Marie scored again inside and it was 42-31 with 15:03 to play in the game. A Thomas three at the 13:01 mark again had the Vikings up by 11 at 45-34.
 
From there, OSU scored 16 of the next 18 points in the game. A Maurice Calloo jumper with 9:45 remaining finally gave the Beavers the lead at 48-47, and they never gave it back.

PSU was 23-60 from the field (.383) and OSU hit 26-62 (.419). The Beavers won the battle on the glass, 45-38. The Vikings finished with 17 turnovers, leading to 17 OSU points.

GAME NOTES

• Khalid Thomas was the only returning Viking in the starting lineup. Newcomers Mikal Starks, Michael Carter III, Marlon Ruffin, and James Jean-Marie also started.
• Jase Coburn had been an assistant coach then and associate head coach with the Vikings for eight seasons before earning the head coaching position this past off-season.
• Six of the last seven games in the series had been decided by six points or less. Last year's game was a 67-62 Oregon State win.
• Portland State comes home on Friday night – the first of three straight at home – to face the Evergreen State Geoducks. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. at Viking Pavilion.