Ethan Thompson leads the way, as the Beavers beat Cal 79-71

The Oregon State Beavers hoops team bounced back from a bad loss Thursday night, against Stanford, with a 79-71 win over the Cal Golden Bears early Saturday afternoon. Sophomore guard Ethan Thompson led the way for the Beavers, finishing with 20 points and 6 assists. His older brother, Stephen Thompson Jr added another 21 points while reigning PAC-12 player of the week, Tres Tinkle poured in 19 points with 3 steals.

The game was a back and forth affair, as both teams went on multiple big runs and no team was able to pull away from the other. After a 3 pointer from the Golden Bears, they only trailed the Beavers 73-71 with 1:45 left. But on the ensuing possession, Ethan Thompson hit a pair of free throws and the Beavers were able to go on a 6-o run from there to end the game.

Cal is now 0-11 in conference play, 5-18 overall, and with today’s loss they extend their school record losing steak to 12 games. Meanwhile, the Beavers record improves to 7-4 in conference play and 15-8 overall. The Beavers are now tied for second place in the PAC-12 and are in good position to grab one of those top 4 seeds and a bye for the PAC-12 tournament in March.

Up next for the Beavers, are the Oregon Ducks, as they host their Civil War rival at Gill next Saturday night.