Northwest Indian College had no players taller than 6-foot-6. Oregon State has seven players 6-foot-9 or taller. That difference was stark for Weber State and the Beavers found the basket in the second half on the way to a 76-48 home win over the Wildcats.

“Tough night for us and hats off to Oregon State. They played very well. Coach (Wayne) Tinkle told me before the game that he really likes his team and I can see why. They have a lot of length and athleticism and shot it really well tonight,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said in a statement. “We obviously didn’t play well but we have a good group of guys.

“It’s early in the season and we will learn from it and get better. These games will help us down the road and let us know what it is we have to get better at.”

Weber State didn’t make a field goal for the game’s first six minutes but two Viljami Vartiainen 3-pointers and two Blaise Threatt drives still had WSU trailing just 16-12 midway through the first half.

Oregon State took a 31-19 lead by feeding big man Parsa Fallah; WSU had no answers there and Fallah scored 14 of his 16 points before halftime.

But the Wildcats held Oregon State scoreless for the final five minutes of the first half and a Nigel Burris 3-pointer for WSU made it 31-22 at halftime.

Miguel Tomley knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to open the second half and Weber State (1-1) had its deficit to 34-28.

But Oregon State (2-0) started to find the net. WSU outshot OSU 4-2 from behind the arc in the first half but the Beavers got hot, making five 3s in the first 8 minutes of the second half.

Three of those came from Nate Kingz, the Oregon State guard who finished with 16 points. His final 3 put the Beavers up 53-33 with 11:28 left and the outcome was decided.

Michael Rataj was a difference-maker on both ends for OSU, totaling 15 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and one block, and generally displaying top-flight ball-stopping capabilities on defense. Josiah Lake II scored 13 to round off OSU’s four double-digit scorers.

Threatt was sensational for most of the night for Weber State, totaling 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and just one turnover in 33 minutes. Threatt’s driving ability opened up opportunities WSU couldn’t cash in; Vartianen’s two early 3s and Tomley’s triples to open the second half were the only shots each made and the Wildcats shot 7 of 25 from distance.

Threatt shot 7 of 13 from the field; all other Wildcats combined to shoot 10 of 38. Burris totaled seven points and five rebounds.

The win was No. 300 for Wayne Tinkle, the longtime Weber State tormentor at Montana now in his 11th season as head coach of Oregon State.

Weber State’s road trip gets tougher with a Wednesday visit to Nevada.