Cold-shooting and untimely turnovers were too much to overcome for Oregon State as the Beavers dropped a close contest to the Texas A&M Aggies at Moda Center. BeaversEdge.com senior writer Brenden Slaughter breaks down the contest and what it means for the Beavers going forward.

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The Oregon State men’s basketball team dropped its second consecutive game by way of a 67-64 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies at Moda Center on Saturday night. The story of the game for the Beavers (6-3) was cold-shooting and turnovers as they shot just 34 percent from the field, 29 percent from three, while committing 19 turnovers.

In what was a grind-it-out, sloppy game at times, OSU certainly had its chances to win this contest, but wasn’t ever able to seize control as their biggest lead was just four points. The two teams exchanged the lead 15 times but it was A&M that was able to shoot better from the field (42 percent) and ultimately, come out with the win.

The Beavers managed to win second-chance points 20-10, but the Aggies owned a 32-18 paint advantage and their bench outscored OSU’s 26-8.

A&M (4-4) took control of the contest with a 9-0 run late in the fourth quarter to build a lead that the Beavers were just unable to overcome.

The Beavers were led by Ethan Thompson’s 20 points, three rebounds and two assists and Tres Tinkle’s 17, six, and two as they were the focal point of the OSU offense all night. Unfortunately for the Beavers, they couldn’t get consistent production outside of those two.

After going 4-of-18 from the field against Saint Louis, Stephen Thompson Jr.’s recent shooting slump continued as he went 2-of-11 from the field against the Aggies, tallying just five points.

Alfred Hollins chipped in eight points and 10 rebounds, and Kylor Kelley added six and nine along with four blocks. Kelley has now had nine straight games with multiple blocks.

Despite the loss to the Aggies, Wayne Tinkle remained confident in his group, noting that while it’s certainly frustrating to have the recent losses, he’s confident that his team is going to get better each and every game as they’re still learning the nuances of playing together.

In terms of a look ahead to the potential of the NCAA Tournament, back-to-back losses to two potential tournament teams in Saint Louis and Texas A&M certainly hurt the Beavers. OSU will have plenty of chances in Pac-12 play to bolster their tournament resume, but losing two games to top-quality opponents in non-conference play puts the Beavers in an uphill climb the rest of the way.

The Beavers won’t have to wait long to get back on the hardwood as they host the Pepperdine Waves (6-5) Monday night at Gill Coliseum. Given the Beavers’ two games in the past two weeks, Tinkle noted that it will be nice to have a game right-quick to get the team back on track.

Wayne Tinkle on the Beavers potential moving forward despite the loss

“This team still has really good potential… I know we’ve talked about talent, but talent without production is just that, potential. We have to get to where we can put it all together and have our guys respond and operate at their top-level all the time. As disappointed as I am right now, I’m very optimistic about where we’re going to go as a team.”

Tinkle on the Beavers’ turnovers

“Shaky ball-handling, dribbling it too high, and going to the rim out of control… We’ve got to have a plan and we can’t be bullheaded going into the paint. We all wanted to attack the paint, but it’s penetrate to pass and we have to get back to doing that.”

Tinkle on the Beavers still finding a groove playing together

“You understand how many guys in our program have at least two or more years playing in our program right now? Two. Tres and Stevie. The rest are sophomores, freshmen, and one junior college transfer. Let’s talk about being patient first and foremost.”