Payton leads Oregon State past Colorado 60-56

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle pointed to his team's guts and mental toughness, despite the Beavers getting crushed on the glass against Colorado.

Defense and a whopping 16 steals helped decide the game.

"We turned them over a ton to balance out the difference in rebounding," Tinkle said.

Gary Payton II had 17 points with a career-high seven steals and Oregon State defeated Colorado 60-56 on Saturday night. Payton was one steal short of the program record.

Stephen Thompson Jr. added 14 points off the bench and clutch free throws for the second game in a row for the Beavers (14-8, 5-6 Pac-12).

"We hadn't . gotten a sweep yet all season. It was big for us, big momentum going into next game," Thompson said.

Tre'Shaun Fletcher scored 15 second-half points and Wesley Gordon added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Buffaloes (17-7, 6-5).

The game was tied at 55 with about a minute left when Josh Fortune missed a lay-in for Colorado. Thompson was fouled on a drive on Oregon State's next possession and sank both free throws with 28.3 seconds remaining.

With 14.8 seconds left, George King was fouled on a shot for the Buffaloes but made only one.

Thompson was fouled again and made 1 of 2 free throws, but Payton grabbed the offensive board and was fouled with 11.2 seconds left. His two free throws sealed the game.

On Thursday, Thompson, a freshman guard, made three free throws with 0.1 seconds left to give Oregon State a 71-69 win over Utah.

Colorado outrebounded Oregon State 47-29, but committed 24 turnovers, which led to 21 Beaver points.

"Quite frankly, you turn the ball over 24 times, how are you even in the game? It says something about our guys' competitiveness and fight and desire," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said.

In a game dominated by scrappy defense, both teams shot poorly, with the Beavers making 35.3 percent of their attempts and the Buffaloes 37.7 percent.

Josh Scott entered the game leading Colorado with 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds. He had one point and two rebounds in 16 minutes of action on Saturday, and didn't play in the second half after twisting his ankle.

Oregon State led 30-19 at halftime.

Xavier Talton made back-to-back 3s to open the second half as part of an 8-0 Colorado run, which made the score 30-27 with 17:58 left.

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TIP-INS

Colorado: The Buffaloes have already won more games than last season, when their record was 16-18. ... On Friday, senior Josh Scott was named one of 10 finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award, given to the top big man in the nation.

Oregon State: The Beavers have had fewer turnovers than their opponents in every Pac-12 game. ... Payton didn't have a steal in the Beavers previous two games, after having at least one steal in 49 of his first 50 games at Oregon State. ... Before Saturday, the Beavers had lost every league game when they were outrebounded.

TURNED ANKLE

Boyle seemed optimistic that Scott might be able to play next week. "He turned his ankle, so we'll see. It will be a day-to-day thing. He'll be out a few days, but we don't play until next Thursday," Boyle said.

LEARNING DEFENSE

Thompson's offense often gets noticed, but he thinks he's progressed defensively. "I've just been trying to go in in practice and learn all the schemes and the press. The press really worked tonight. They had a lot of turnovers and I was just trying to remain moving up top at the top."

UP NEXT

Colorado hosts Washington State on Thursday.

Oregon State plays at Stanford on Thursday.