CORVALLIS — Joe Burton scored a career-high 21 points and Oregon State pulled away from Montana State in the second half Sunday for a 78-65 win.
Ahmad Starks added 14 points and nine rebounds for Oregon State (4-1), which also got 11 points and 10 rebounds from Eric Moreland.
Antonio Biglow scored 14 points and Flavien Davis had 12 points and nine rebounds for Montana State (1-3).
Oregon State was playing its first game without center Angus Brandt, who went down with a season-ending right knee injury in the Beavers’ 66-58 win against Purdue on Nov. 16 in New York.
Brandt, a senior, averaged 11.3 points and 8.5 rebounds in Oregon State’s first four games.
“Angus is a big part of the team. He just brings a lot of energy, even off the court," said Burton, emotional about his teammate’s injury. “It was just hard seeing him on the sideline with crutches knowing I’m not going to play with him this season."
Burton, a 6-foot-7 center, also had a season-high 10 rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes. Moreland had his second double-double of the season.
“After it’s evident for a week-and-a-half now that (Brandt) isn’t going to be with us, everybody feels the pressure of having to do a little bit more," Oregon State coach Craig Robinson said. “It was very nice for Joe to have such a good game the first day without Angus."
Xavier Blount’s 3-pointer with 17:44 left helped Montana State cut a 14-point halftime deficit to 47-38.
The Bobcats came within 58-51 with 11:13 remaining after Blount made a pair of free throws. The Beavers’ Olaf Schaftenaar answered with a 3-pointer to restore the double-digit lead.
Montana State came no closer than eight points after that. Oregon State went on to lead by as many as 18 points.
The Bobcats took a 6-0 lead and stayed ahead until Roberto Nelson’s dunk put the Beavers ahead 17-16. Burton added a steal and basket to cap Oregon State’s 9-0 run.
Oregon State took the lead for good at 25-24 on Moreland’s free throw. The Beavers ended the half on an 11-2 run — including six points by Burton — to lead 45-31.
Burton was just two points short of his previous career high with 16 at halftime.
Oregon State had a 51-42 rebounding edge and shot 47 percent while Montana State made just 30 percent of its shots.
Also on Sunday:
No. 1 Indiana 101
Ball State 53
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Will Sheehey scored 19 points to help Indiana defeat Ball State. Jordan Hulls scored 17 points, Cody Zeller scored 15 and Christian Watford had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Hoosiers (6-0).
No. 6 Syracuse 87
Colgate 51
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — James Southerland scored 18 points, Michael Carter-Williams had eight points and a career-high 13 assists, and Syracuse beat Colgate. It was the 165th meeting between the upstate New York foes, and the Orange (4-0) won their 46th straight against Colgate (3-4).
Cal Poly 70
No. 11 UCLA 68
LOS ANGELES — Dylan Royer scored 18 points and Kyle Odister came off the bench and added 15 points, including the game-winning free throws and Cal Poly upset UCLA. Chris Eversley had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Mustangs (2-2), who erased an 18-point deficit in the second half and earned their first win against UCLA in six tries.
No. 15 Michigan State 63
Louisiana-Lafayette 60
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Keith Appling scored 19 points to help Michigan State survive a scare and beat Louisiana-Lafayette. Appling, who has scored at least 17 points in every game except one this season, was four for 11 from the field. But he made other plays at key times, hitting 10 free throws and adding six rebounds and five assists for the Spartans (5-1).
No. 17 Gonzaga 81
Davidson 67
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Elias Harris scored 24 points, Kevin Pangos added 23 and Gonzaga beat Davidson in the Old Spice Classic championship game. Kelly Olynyk added 14 points for Gonzaga (6-0), which also won the 2008 Old Spice Classic. The Bulldogs are undefeated in six overall games at the tourney.
No. 20 Oklahoma State 81
Portland State 58
STILLWATER, Okla. — Markel Brown scored a season-high 23 points, Le’Bryan Nash added 20 and Oklahoma State cruised over Portland State in its first game as a Top 25 team in five years. Phil Forte chipped in 15 points and Marcus Smart had eight points and nine assists, the third most for a freshman in Cowboys’ history.
No. 21 Connecticut 73
Stony Brook 62
STORRS, Conn. — Niels Giffey had a career-high 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help Connecticut rally for a victory over Stony Brook. Shabazz Napier had 15 of his 19 points in the second half for UConn (5-1), and Omar Calhoun added 14.
No. 23 Colorado 89
Air Force 74
BOULDER, Colo. — Freshman Josh Scott helped break open a tight game by scoring 13 of his 20 points in the second half, and Colorado handed Air Force its first loss of the season. Andre Roberson had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Spencer Dinwiddie and Askia Booker added 15 points apiece for Colorado (5-0), which is off to its best start since also opening 5-0 in 1989-90.
No. 25 San Diego State 66
Southern California 60
LOS ANGELES — James Rahon and Jamaal Franklin had 17 points apiece, and San Diego State edged Southern California. Franklin scored six points down the stretch as the Aztecs (4-1) earned their fourth consecutive win since dropping their opener against Syracuse on the USS Midway.
California 78
Pacific 58
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Allen Crabbe scored 24 points, Justin Cobbs added 20, and California pulled away in the final 6 minutes to beat Pacific and win the DirecTV Classic. The Golden Bears, who are off to their first 6-0 start 2007, were 22 for 25 on free throws.
