Oregon State too much in 2nd half for Weber State basketball in opener
Oregon State 102, Weber State 61
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- Weber State guard ArDarius Grayson, left, goes airborne against Oregon State center Xavion Staton (32) during a game Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Corvallis, Ore. (Gary Breedlove, for WSU Athletics)
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- Weber State guard Gavin Lowe, left, drives past Oregon State’s Chris Johnson (22) during a game Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Corvallis, Ore. (Gary Breedlove, for WSU Athletics)
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- Weber State guard Mason Abittan (8) fades away for a jump shot during a game against Oregon State on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Corvallis, Ore. (Gary Breedlove, for WSU Athletics)
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- Weber State center Augustine Ekwe (44) shoots over Oregon State’s Xavion Staton (32) during a game Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Corvallis, Ore. (Gary Breedlove, for WSU Athletics)
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- Weber State’s Dylan Warlick (23) shoots against Oregon State’s Xavion Staton during a game Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Corvallis, Ore. (Gary Breedlove, for WSU Athletics)
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- Weber State forward Chamberlain Burgess (4) shoots a 3-pointer against Oregon State’s DeShawn Gory (35) during a game Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Corvallis, Ore. (Gary Breedlove, for WSU Athletics)
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- Weber State guard ArDarius Grayson (0) directs the offense in front of Oregon State guard Legend Smiley (13) during a game Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Corvallis, Ore. (Gary Breedlove, for WSU Athletics)
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- Weber State’s Dylan Warlick (23) puts up a 3-pointer past Oregon State’s Josiah Lake II (2) during a game Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Corvallis, Ore. (Gary Breedlove, for WSU Athletics)
A heavily favored Oregon State basketball squad took its home court for the first time under head coach Justin Joyner after his national title on the bench at Michigan last year, and over 40 minutes showed the speed, size and firepower that helped the Beavers scare Michigan in a recent exhibition.
Weber State, sporting the youngest active roster in the country, got on the floor for the first game with Kaleb Canales in charge, looking to take the first steps toward a renewed energy in the program.
For 21 minutes, the Wildcats had that energy. But, like several other Big Sky teams during Monday’s opening night, Weber State got steamrolled in the second half. Buffalo transfer Daniel Freitag showed why he was a 20-points-per-game scorer, helping the Beavers run away with a 102-61 victory in Corvallis, Oregon.
“We’ve got to go through this hard stuff. It’s part of the process, it’s part of what we’re building. We want to play this tough competition because that’s where we’re going to compete and test ourselves,” Canales said in a postgame radio interview. “Over 50% of our roster hasn’t played in two years, so we need this. We need to go through this.
“This is part of our growth, part of our development, part of our process that we’re excited about. We’ll look at it, we’ll be hard on ourselves, and then we’ll make the adjustments and turn the page to Saturday.”
Especially with starting shooting guard Mason Abittan logging just nine minutes due to foul trouble, a lot of action for Weber State went through the hands of freshman guard Gavin Lowe and sophomore ArDarius Grayson.
After BYU transfer 7-footer Xavion Staton dunked to put Oregon State up 37-23, Dylan Warlick answered with a transition dunk and a paint floater to get a WSU run started. Grayson and Lowe finished a 12-2 run with consecutive 3-pointers, pulling WSU to a 39-35 deficit late in the first half.
Lowe knocked down a fadeaway from the block to open the second half, making it 43-37.
“That group did a good job of closing the half. I felt we were connected,” Canales said. “I felt we competed on the glass, which was a big deal for us. We just played out of transition most of the night, which we can’t have. We’ve got to be better defensively.”
That’s when Freitag went to work.
The third-year guard immediately drew Warlick’s third foul and Abittan’s fourth during the same possession, getting to the three-throw line for a pair. He finished 12 of 12 at the line for 23 points — shooting as many free throws as WSU did (7 of 12). Josiah Lake II scored six quick points, and the Beavers were soon on the run.
Oregon State shot 20 of 24 at the foul line in the second half alone, and 29 of 34 for the game. DeShawn Gory scored 17 points, Chris Johnson 13, Legend Smiley 11, Staton had 10 points with 13 rebounds, and brothers Josiah Lake and Jemai Lake each had 10 points.
Lowe led Weber State with 15 points, two assists and four steals. Grayson had 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Aaron Powell and Augustine Ekwe each added eight points and Brock Felder pitched in six.
One glaring line in the box score is Weber State’s 6-of-35 night at the 3-point line. Canales said he’s fine with the volume because the shot quality was good.
“I believe the shooting will come. We had great looks, we just missed some open shots that we’re going to hit,” Canales said. “We had a lot of great looks and we have confidence in these boys. They’ve put in the work and they’ll knock ’em down.
“We love open shots. Anything our offense generates, if it’s a good look, these boys put in the work. We’re looking to make shots.”
While WSU’s quantity of misses meant the Wildcats got outrebounded by 14, Weber State won the offensive glass 16-11 and the turnover battle 11-9.
The Wildcats regroup to host Utah Valley at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Dee Events Center home opener. It’s the nightcap of a doubleheader after the women’s team hosts Denver at 4 p.m.
“We’ve got a fighting spirit,” Canales said. “We’re going to fight the fight. … As long as we stay with our process on both ends of the floor, we’ll be fine.”
