Following Oregon State's 77-72 victory over the Oregon Ducks in Matthew Knight Arena, BeaversEdge.com senior writer Brenden Slaughter highlights how the Beavers (9-4, 1-0) were able to earn their first win in Eugene since 2012, and what it means moving forward.

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They say all streaks must come to an end.

For the first time since Jan. 2012, the Oregon State men’s basketball team defeated Oregon 77-72 in Matthew Knight Arena.

It wasn't always a pretty game, but behind Tres Tinkle and just enough production from the Thompson brothers and the rest of the squad, the Beavers (9-4, 1-0) were able to put a bit of bad history behind them.

Coming into Saturday’s 351st Civil War, the Beavers had lost six straight in Eugene, with a lot of those losses along the way coming in lopsided fashion at the hands of Dana Altman and Co. It wasn’t just the six year road-losing streak to the Ducks (9-5, 0-1) that was shattered with the Beavers’ win either. Coming into the Civil War, the Beavers hadn’t won a conference opener on the road since 1993.

What was the difference this year?

There were a lot of factors, but let’s look at some.

For starters, the Beavers shook up their usual travel routine. Instead of coming down the day of the game, which had been the usual for the Beavers under Wayne Tinkle, OSU traveled to Eugene late Friday night. The goal for OSU was to be more rested and comfortable for the hostile environment. The Beavers elected to have their 10:00 a.m. shootaround in Matthew Knight Arena and it sure looks like the shakeup certainly helped the Beavers.

Secondly, Tres Tinkle might have had one of his most gutty performances of his Oregon State career. Tinkle fought through a nasty rolled ankle and put together one of his best individual games as a Beaver, scoring 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting while also chipping in eight rebounds and four assists.

Tinkle will certainly be feeling the ill-effects of the ankle-sprain in the coming days, but to see him fight through the pain and run on adrenaline to lead his team to victory was perhaps his most signature performance. Tinkle’s career has been plagued by injuries, and to see him respond the way he did in the face of an injury almost seemed fitting as he powered the Beavers to a 1-0 Pac-12 start.

Lastly, the Beavers never quit and played with hustle and determination all the way until the final buzzer. There were plenty of moments where the Beavers could have caved to immense pressure building minute-by-minute in Matthew Knight Arena.

Despite holding an 18 point lead early in the second half, OSU fumbled down the stretch against a signature of Altman… the full-court press. OSU committed 12 turnovers in the second half after just committing just seven in the first and looked lost and out of sorts in the last 10 minutes of action trying to inbound the ball against Altman’s blitzing press.

In terms of the bigger picture, I’m excited to see what the Beavers do from here… Granted, Oregon was down the majority of its big guns as center and former five-star recruit Bol Bol is out for the season and shot-blocking dynamo forward Kenny Wooten is also on the shelf with injury, but a win is a win and the Beavers will certainly take it. OSU didn’t have the type of non-conference success that they would have liked with games they let slip away (Missouri, Saint Louis, Texas A&M, and Kent State) but you can only move forward from here, and now armed with a 1-0 record and a home slate against the L.A. schools next week, there’s certainly reason to be excited about what the Beavers can do in the Pac-12 this season.

All of Oregon State’s losses this season have been winnable games and while that’s frustrating for Beaver fans given the experience that this team possesses with multiple players with extensive experience, maybe this team is about to turn the corner. A win like this one where the Beavers were able to absorb multiple blows from a very well-coached and athletic team is big-time.

Granted, there are still multiple things the Beavers need to clean up… One is breaking the press, another is not turning the ball over, and another is being able to carry this momentum and riding it into conference play.

There’s a long road ahead of the Beavers, and they’ll need to play fantastic basketball in the mediocre Pac-12 to have a record good-enough to merit postseason consideration, but beating your arch-rival on their home floor to open conference play and earning a marquee win in the process is certainly good mojo for the team moving forward.

The Pac-12 is wide open for business this season and the opportunity exists for the Beavers to make some noise this season thanks to a momentum-building win in Eugene.

And to think, it all started with a wise travel adjustment by Wayne Tinkle...