The Beavers rebound to improve to 5-2 – The Daily Barometer

The Beavers men’s basketball international stars led the team to a 90-57 victory over the University of California Davis at Gill Coliseum on Saturday, November 30th.

“I think the team is coming together really well,” said new striker from Denmark Johan Munch. “The fact that we have many different nationalities makes the bond between us even stronger.”

The program consists of 10 international players based in Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Lithuania, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

In addition to an expanded international squad, the team has nine newcomers this season.

“We have improved the talent level, maturity and depth, but recognize there will be some hurdles along the way,” said head coach Wayne Tinkle.

Iranian transfer student Parsa Fallah secured the first basket of the game on a second-chance layup and assist from senior guard Damarco Minor.

Fallah remained perfect in the first half, 6-6 from the field and 2-2 on free throws.

He finished the game as the night’s leading scorer with 25 points and a shooting percentage of 78 percent.

The Beavers made an impact early in the game, maintaining a consistent lead of eight points or more four minutes into the game.

Their lead eventually grew to 13 by halftime. Sophomore Josiah Lake collected an offensive rebound and, within two seconds, passed the ball to junior Nate Kingz, whose jumper ended the half at 44-31 for the Beavers finished.

Beaver Basketball’s last game ended in a one-possession loss to North Texas. They led the University of Oregon by 10 points in the first half before losing in the final minutes of the game.

“Those are some of the things, a new team with so many new people, you only experience it by going through it,” Tinkle said. “We are ashamed of the lack of execution, but the season is long, so I thought tonight was great.”

OSU’s leading scorer, German native Michael Rataj, had 16 points and nine rebounds in the second half.

Sophomore Isaiah Lake II threw down a dunk with two minutes left in the game and put the final nail in the coffin with a fastbreak steal.

After leading the entire game, OSU Basketball ended its two-game losing streak and improved to 5-2.

“This is a very good team. (UC Davis) didn’t have a very good second half, but coach Les is doing a great job of instilling toughness and discipline,” Tinkle said. “Our guys came out after a pretty strong first half and then went full throttle in the second half.”

Beaver Basketball will look to continue its home win with a game against Idaho State on Saturday, December 7th at Gill Coliseum at 2 p.m.