Following Oregon State's 72-57 win over Oregon, BeaversEdge.com senior writer Brenden Slaughter gives his takeaways from the Beavers' first sweep of Oregon since 2009-10.

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A big reason why the Oregon State basketball team was able to come out on top against the Ducks in the was the fact that they were able to force the Ducks into 18 turnovers. Wayne Tinkle's group was able to turn those 18 Oregon turnovers into 14 points, shifting the tide in their favor.

Behind a charged crowd of 9,103, OSU swept the series for the first time since 2010 and it was the biggest margin of victory for OSU vs. Oregon since that same 2010 season (62-42).

After the Beavers had been a little inconsistent over their past three games at Gill Coliseum with blowout losses to Stanford and Washington and a too-close for comfort win over Cal, the Beavers made a strong statement in front of their home crowd. OSU matched its best overall record through 24 games since coachTinkle's first season in 2014-15.

After trailing the Ducks by one heading to halftime, the Beavers flipped the script on the Ducks in the second half, outscoring the Ducks 49-25 in the second half and watching their lead balloon to as many as 17.

The game was big for the Beavers in a multitude of ways, but perhaps the most impressive thing about it was the way that the Beavers won. They played their brand of blue-collar basketball and forced the Ducks into mistakes while hammering on their weaknesses.

Beating a Dana Altman coached team twice in one season is a first for the Beavers and it's important to remember that this Ducks team is just two seasons removed from a Final Four berth.

While the Ducks don't have the same caliber of the team that they've had in recent years, beating them twice this season showed the mental toughness and maturity that the Beavers have built over the course of the season.

After largely relying on the contributions of Tres Tinkle, Stephen Thompson Jr., and Ethan Thompson for most of the offensive production on any given night, the Beavers got a boost from their bench in the form of reserve center Gligorije Rakocevic who had his highest point total (11) since returning from from a stress-fracture in his left foot.

Oregon State is good enough to win games with the production they're accustomed to getting, but when they're able to get solid production off the bench, they're a really good team. Take the Oregon game for example, not only did Big G tally 11 points and three rebounds on 4-of-4 shooting, but Alfred Hollins chipped in eight points and five rebounds as well.

Getting reliable and consistent production from the bench is going to be crucial in the final six games of the season and with Big G showing that he's getting closer and closer to 100 percent, the Beavers will have yet another weapon at their disposal.

While Kylor Kelley gets most of the big man notoriety, and for good reason being the nation's second leading shot-blocker, Big G is able to give the Beavers something in the post that they don't have.

A physical five that has the strength to bully opposing players down low on offense while also still being a defensive anchor.

I see Rakocevic as the kingpin to Oregon State's success over the stretch run because not only is he stepping up his production from the bench, he's still one of the most vocal leaders on the team.

OSU is better with him playing his best, like he did against Oregon and heading into the final stretch of the regular season, I think we'll see Big G continue to make plays from the low block.

The once-praised Oregon State defense rose to the occasion against the Ducks after having an up and down conference season. After being a little too shaky in conference play as a team when it came to defense, the Beavers stepped up their game against the Ducks, allowing just 57 points on 43 percent shooting from the field and 28 percent from three point range.

The 57 points scored by Oregon was the third lowest point total of the season from an Oregon State opponent and gives the Beavers a big boost of confidence heading into a tougher stretch of their season.

After spending the last two weeks in the friendly confines of Gill Coliseum, the Beaver defense will need to continue to play at the level that they did against the Ducks as they head out on the road to L.A. for matchups with UCLA and USC. The two games against the Trojans and Bruins earlier in the season were tightly contested contests and if the Beavers want to continue to make a case for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, a split at minimum is needed this weekend.

OSU showed a lot of grit and toughness grinding out a Civil War win over Oregon and now the biggest thing for Wayne Tinkle and Co. is going to be playing at a consistent level. It seems like every time it looks like the Beavers have it figured out, they suffer a puzzling loss (I.e. UW, Stanford, Kent State) that forces them to take a step back.

On the surface, Oregon State is a borderline NCAA Tournament team. The Beavers stand alone in second place in the Pac-12 and have a bonafide Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate in Tres Tinkle... but the committee needs to see consistency from the Beavers. Winning the Civil War was a big step in the right direction, but keeping up the defensive intensity this weekend in L.A. is going to be paramount for the Beavers to keep their hold on second place.

The OSU defense played one of its best games of the season against the Ducks, now it's going to be up to them to keep up the intensity and bring that same energy on the defensive end to keep fueling their late-season push.