National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Oregon St. 80, Western Illinois 59
When: 10:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Where: Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Oregon
Officials: # Rick Batsell, # Jimmy Casas, # Martin Cota
Attendance: 1931

Oregon State 80, Western Illinois 59: Jared Cunningham scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half and the host Beavers led wire-to-wire in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational.

Ahmad Starks added 16 points for the Beavers (20-14), who advanced to host TCU on Monday.

Western Illinois (18-15) entered the game allowing an average of 59.5 points, but the Leathernecks struggled to slow down the high-scoring Oregon State offense. The Beavers shot 65.2 percent (30 of 46) from the field and made 15 of their 17 foul shots.

Playing its first postseason game since becoming a Division I program in 1981, Western Illinois was led by Don McAvoy’s 19 points. Ceola Clark added 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

The Leathernecks were outscored 16-2 in the game’s first few minutes, and trailed by 20 with eight minutes remaining.

Devon Collier had 12 points and Angus Brandt added 10 for Oregon State, which lost in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals to Arizona. The Beavers improved to 13-3 when scoring 80 or more points.

Western Illinois, which recorded a winning record for the first time in 12 years, reached the Summit League championship game before losing in overtime to South Dakota State.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Oregon State, which is making its third appearance in the CBI, won the tournament in 2009. … Starks moved into second on the Beavers’ single-season 3-pointer list with 78, trailing only Gary Payton, who made 82 in 1988-89. … Oregon State’s Kevin McShane sat out with a hip pointer he suffered in the Pac-12 semifinals. … The teams combined for 23 first-half turnovers. ... Western Illinois was 2 of 4 from the foul line.
Top Game Performances
 
Western Illinois   Oregon St.
Don McAvoy III 19 Scoring Jared Cunningham 22
Ceola III Clark 5 Assists Jared Cunningham 5
Terell Parks 6 Rebounds Joe Burton 8
Don McAvoy III 2 Free Throws Made Devon Collier 6
Don McAvoy III 3 Steals Jared Cunningham 3
N/A Blocks Eric Moreland 5
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Western Illinois 59 41.4 9-18 2-4 13 12 0 9 17
Oregon St. 80 65.2 5-12 15-17 16 33 9 9 23