The lowdown:
It didn’t take long for the scoring to get started in Corvallis, despite the Beavers missing leading scorer Tres Tinkle due to injury. Both USC and Oregon State made their first attempts, with Bennie Boatwright getting on the board quickly.
With the two teams trading scores early, the long awaited return of freshman phenom Kevin Porter Jr. became the story. He checked in along with fellow freshman Elijah Weaver, who has also missed time with injury recently, and sank a three-pointer as USC broke off an 10-0 run to lead 20-11.
USC’s lead extended as large as 11 points but the scoring contributions of Oregon State’s Stephen Thompson Jr.