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Devon Collier’s return an important one for Oregon State

collier

Oregon State Athletics

What a difference a week makes for the Oregon State Beavers.

With big men Devon Collier and Eric Moreland suspended the Beavers lost their regular season opener to Coppin State, a team picked to finish ninth in the MEAC. That loss occurred despite senior guard Roberto Nelson scoring 36 points, as he attempted to carry Oregon State to the victory with limited offensive help from his teammates.

Now that Collier’s back in the fold Nelson has some help when it comes to managing the scoring load, and on Sunday evening those two combined to lead Oregon State to a 90-83 victory at Maryland. Nelson scored a game-high 31 points to go along with seven assists, shooting 12-for-14 from the foul line, and Collier added his second consecutive double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds. And it’s safe to say that these last two games have displayed Collier’s importance to the Oregon State attack.

Nelson’s ability to score has been there for quite some time, but Oregon State wasn’t going to be able to “tread water” in either non-conference or Pac-12 play if he were the only scoring option. Enter Collier, who averaged 12.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season and has posted double-doubles in each of the two games he’s played in this season. With the return of Angus Brandt (missed much of last season with a torn ACL) inside and guards Challe Barton and Victor Robbins the Beavers do have experience, but without Collier they didn’t have much in the way of scoring punch.

“It was a team effort,” Collier said after the game. “I came out to play. Berto came out to play. Angus came out to play. The whole team came out to play. I felt it was a team effort; everybody followed the game plan and we came out with a victory.”

Oregon State will add their best interior defender in Eric Moreland when conference play begins in January and he’s a valuable piece, but he doesn’t threaten defenses to the level that Collier does inside. Maryland had no answer for the senior forward, and that proved to be as important as Nelson’s 31-point night. The Beavers will play four of their next five games in Corvallis, with the lone road trip coming in the form of a game at DePaul.

Can they get hot before leaving the mainland for the Diamond Head Classic in late-December? The schedule sets up for such a run, but then again in recent years Oregon State’s seemingly made a habit of squandering such opportunities. This time around the Beavers have two proven scoring options, and that could make all the difference as Oregon State looks to rack up some wins before the start of Pac-12 play.

Also of note: Oregon State moved to 4-0 in games played with President Barack Obama and his family in attendance.

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