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The Oregon State men’s basketball team is back in action this Saturday as the Beavers make their annual trek to Portland to play in the Dam City Classic. In what was a tournament in past seasons, the Beavers this season will play just one game at Moda Center, hosting the Texas A&M Aggies (3-4) at 8:00 p.m on Pac-12 Network.

Despite losing to the Saint Louis this past weekend, the Beavers (6-2) were proud of the way that they battled through adversity and were able to overcome a double-digit deficit in the second half to be in the game until the very end.

“We were down by double-digits late in the second half and we were able to get the lead and that showed a lot of heart and toughness,” guard Ethan Thompson said. “We need to be able to come out from the jump like that and maintain that for 40 minutes.

Forward Tres Tinkle wasn’t quite as rosy as Thompson as he feels the Beavers really let one go against Saint Louis and that the Beavers need to simply have more production.

“There’s definitely more negatives than positives because we let one slip away,” Tres Tinkle said. “We should have had that game, but we had a lot of turnovers, myself included. Our starters missed shots that we normally make and we didn’t come out like we gameplanned. We have to stay more disciplined to our game plan… That was a tough team, but we feel we could have and should have beaten them. The only good thing was we showed fight, but it wasn’t enough.”

The Beavers were facing an uphill climb for most of the afternoon as the team was saddled with early foul-trouble, cold shooting, and didn’t respond well to the intense physicality that Saint Louis provided.

“It’s difficult, but that’s not the first game like that we’ve experienced,” Thompson said. “We want to use that game to make us that much better moving forward.”

Coach Wayne Tinkle described the game as disappointing, noting that he has watched the game several times, and feels the Beavers should have played better.

“I’ve watched that game multiple times and it was disappointing,” he said said. “We knew they were a good team. They had just beat Seton Hall and Seton Hall just knocked off Kentucky. They beat Butler… We knew it was going to be a challenge. It’s disappointing from the standpoint that we prepared for a physical game and we didn’t respond well. Uncharacteristic turnovers and we didn’t shoot it well after shooting very well in the Missouri State game. Defensively, we have to get better at knowing when an opposing shooter gets hot and to guard him tighter.”

Following the loss, the Beavers have called this game against the Aggies a must-win game for their non-conference resumé and NCAA Tournament hopes.

“This is going to be a big game for us and we need this win,” Thompson said. “Not only to help us in March, but to give us some momentum to finish off the preseason.”

Wayne Tinkle noted that the Aggies present the Beavers’ toughest challenge of the preseason as they are a very up-and-down team that likes to get out and run.

“It will be the toughest opponent we’ve played in the Dam City Classic,” Wayne Tinkle said. “I know they’re 3-4 overall, but look at who they’ve played. They’ve got a young team, but they’re very talented and it’s going to be a tough challenge. They are much more athletic than the previous teams we’ve played.

As has been the case for the past few seasons, the excitement is high for OSU players to be able to play on an NBA court and dream that they’ll be playing on one some day. Combine that excitement to compete with being able to play in front of where a large part of their fanbase resides, the Beavers are amped up for playing at Moda Center.

“It’s a great experience and I had a great time up there last year,” Ethan Thompson said. “It’s fun going to the locker room and seeing names like Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in the lockers. Being able to get on the court and get on the court where NBA guys play is very exciting.”

Added Wayne Tinkle: “It’s a great experience for our players. We get to go back up there and really give back to our fans in the Portland area. To play in the Moda Center is exciting for our recruiting and for our players. The relationship we’ve built with the Trail Blazers and the Rose Quarter folks has really been a nice deal for our program.”

One of the surprise revelations that came from Tuesday’s media availability is that BYU transfer Payton Dastrup is still trying to receive eligibility from the NCAA for this season. The former four-star recruit has been battling the NCAA this season for immediate eligibility and his family has hired an attorney to further his appeal process.

The biggest takeaway from hearing Coach Tinkle talk about Dastrup was not only the fact that his family hired a lawyer, but also that Tinkle and Dastrup’s family have received a list of everyone in college basketball who has been granted immediate eligibility this season, and they feel there should be ambiguity from the NCAA. Tinkle and Co. are still fighting through the process and feel they should know more in the next week or two.

“It’s a shame we don’t have him on the court,” Wayne Tinkle said. “He and his dad flew themselves to Missouri -- because we couldn’t take him with us -- just because he wanted to be a part of the team. He’s been through a lot and it’s been tough on him. You look across the country and it seems like everyone is getting waivers for whatever excuse they can come up with. Here’s a guy that has a legitimate case and was shot down in a blanket denial. It’s been a disappointing process and it has to be cleaned up on all fronts. There’s things he couldn’t put in his first waiver because of circumstance that he can now and we hope that helps.”

Given the loss of Big G and the Beavers’ youthful frontcourt, having the 6-foot-10 stretch four would be a huge addition to the team.

Tres Tinkle feels Dastrup’s game was very similar to that of former Beaver Olaf Schaftenaar in terms of the ability to stretch the floor with an inside/outside game. He played a crucial role in the Beavers’ 2015-16 NCAA Tournament run as he provided a consistent spark and opened up the Beavers’ offense.

“He’s a lot like Olaf,” Tres Tinkle said. “He’s a stretch four that can shoot it and is very crafty. One of the biggest things that no one talks about in basketball is communication and he’s very versed at talking on the court. That shows a lot of maturity. He’s a high IQ guy and can make a lot of plays.”

OSU doesn’t have a player on the roster with the skill set of Dastrup, and he’d be a welcome addition to an OSU frontcourt that could use another experienced big with Big G on the shelf for a few more weeks.

Several weeks ago, it was revealed that center Gligorije Rakocevic would miss the rest of preseason play and possibly the start of Pac-12 play with a stress-fracture in his left foot. OSU has gone 1-1 in G’s absence, defeating Missouri State and losing to Saint Louis.

Wayne Tinkle noted Tuesday that there’s nothing new on G’s status and that the team would continue to monitor his status in the coming days and weeks.

The Beavers really missed G’s physicality and defensive presence against the Billikens as they featured a very physical group that got the young OSU bigs into foul trouble early. G is OSU’s most experienced and tough-minded paint defender and it will be an uphill climb while he’s sidelined.

“Not having G really hurts and it really hurt against Saint Louis because he’s our most physical presence inside,” Wayne Tinkle said. “We told our bigs not to get in foul trouble and we told them to save their fouls protecting the rim, and we had some silly ones.”