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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Coach Wayne Tinkle kept his halftime message to the Oregon State Beavers simple: Lay it on the line.
Gary Payton II had 19 points and Oregon State rallied in the second half to defeat Tulsa 76-71 to cap the revival of the Far West Classic on Saturday night.
"We didn't show enough life, we didn't show enough passion. We had guys standing around not looking like they were ready to get after it in that first half," Tinkle said. "So we challenged them, and guys responded."
Langston Morris-Walker and Olaf Schaftenaar each added 11 points for the Beavers (8-2), who have won four of their last five.
Rashad Smith had a season-high 20 points for the Golden Hurricanes (7-4).
After trailing for the entire first half, Oregon State pulled in front midway through the second. Although Tulsa stayed close, Langton Morris Walker's 3-pointer gave the Beavers a 69-65 lead with 3:01 left.
Schaftenaar's 3-pointer made it 72-65 with 48 seconds left to all but seal it for the Beavers.
"We brought life and passion to that second half and beat a really, really good team when our backs were against the wall," Tinkle said.
The Portland Pilots defeated Cal State Fullerton 65-60 in the earlier game Saturday in the revival of the Far West Classic, a popular holiday tournament that was a fixture in Portland for some 40 years before its demise nearly two decades ago.
The Beavers, which defeated Fullerton 82-67 on Friday night, have an 8-2 start for the second consecutive season. Weber State bested the Pilots 92-82.
"Our defense let us down a little bit in the second half, but all in all it was a high-level game," Tulsa coach Frank Haith said. "They've got a good team and he (Tinkle) did a great job with them."
Payton's dad had a courtside seat to watch his son for the second straight night. The elder Payton is the most celebrated player in Beavers' history, and still holds school records for career points (2,172), assists and steals. He is the Pac-12's all-time leader in assists (938) and steals (321). He led the Beavers to their last NCAA tournament appearance in 1990, going on to an 18-year career in the NBA.
Tulsa led the entire first half, pushing ahead 23-14 on Smith's layup with 6:14 to go. The Hurricanes' biggest lead of the half was 34-24 with just under a minute left, but Payton made a layup at the buzzer to cut the score to 34-28 at the break.
Smith, who was averaging 5.3 points going in, had 14 points in the first half alone against the Beavers.
Payton had 11 points going into halftime, but the Beavers were hurt by 10 turnovers.
Schaftenaar's 3-pointer closed the Beavers within 36-33 early in the second half, but Tulsa held off Oregon State until Tres Tinkle's layup with 10:45 tied it at 55. The Beavers finally pulled in front 59-56 on free throws from Jarmal Reid and Payton.
James Woodard hit a 3-pointer and a layup to put Tulsa within a point at 64-63 with 5:56 to go and it was tight the rest of the way.
In its heyday, the Far West Classic was considered the premier holiday basketball tournaments on the West Coast. The eight-team tournament brought players like Gary Payton, Magic Johnson and John Stockton to Portland. Payton won the tournament's Most Valuable Player award three times, and Oregon State won it 20 times overall during the first 40 years.
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TIP-INS
Tulsa: The Golden Hurricanes have nine seniors on their roster. ... It was just the second time that the two teams had met. The Golden Hurricanes won 59-57 in 1998 at the Pearl Harbor Classic.
Oregon State: The Beavers saw the return of 6-foot-10 forward Daniel Gomis, who broke a bone in his left hand in late October and had not played so far this season. "He's one of our leaders and we've missed him," Tinkle said. "I thought that was a great little boost, shot in the arm he gave us."
UP NEXT
Tulsa hosts Northern Arizona on Tuesday before opening conference play against SMU on Dec. 29.
Oregon State has one more nonconference game, at home against Quinnipiac on Monday. The Beavers open the Pac-12 season against rival Oregon on Jan. 3.
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