CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) On an Oregon State basketball team without a senior player, junior college transfer Gary Payton II said he decided he was going to be a leader.
''I just took the initiative to step up, be one of those vocal players and also (lead) by example in practice and games,'' he said.
On Wednesday night, Payton stepped up big-time with a career-high 24 points and 16 rebounds as Oregon State beat Mississippi Valley State 74-50.
Daniel Gomis added 11 points, six rebounds and five blocks for the Beavers (4-2).
Gomis called Payton a ''great teammate, just motivating people when things don't go their way, and just the energy he brings every day in practice. He's always talking, and it translates to the game every time.''
Jordan Washington scored 17 and DeAngelo Priar had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Delta Devils (1-7).
The Beavers used a considerable height advantage to dominate the boards, and outrebounded MVSU 53-36. The Delta Devils' tallest starter was 6-foot-7.
''Really, our game plan offensively was to punish them for their lack of size and pound it inside. We did that in the second half,'' Oregon State Coach Wayne Tinkle said.
The Beavers jumped ahead 12-7 with 16:21 remaining in the first thanks to 10 quick points by Payton, including two 3-pointers.
Oregon State led 40-28 at the break. The Beavers went on a 22-3 run to close the first half and open the second half, capped by Payton's rebound-dunk.
Payton is the son of former Oregon State All-American Gary Payton, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
He came into the game leading the Beavers in points, rebounds, blocks and steals per game. Wednesday was his second 20-point effort in a row, and he also notched four steals and two blocks.
''He's strung together a couple of complete and very dominating performances,'' Tinkle said. ''We're going to need that from him every night.''
Washington came into the game leading the Delta Devils with 14.4 points per game.
Mississippi Valley State came into the game shooting .328 on the season. They shot 29.5 percent on Wednesday.
''(Oregon State) didn't shoot great. We just gave up offensive boards,'' MVSU Coach Andre Payne said.
''My hopes are we take these bumps and bruises and learn from them. If we can take our style of play into the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference), where the post players are going to be 6-6, 6-7, we can compete.''
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TIP-INS
Mississippi Valley State: Andre Payne is in his first year as head coach of the Delta Devils, and previously coached at Wiley College in Texas, an NAIA school. He led the Wildcats to two Red River Athletic Conference Tournament titles, in 2007 and 2014.
Oregon State: The last Oregon State player to notch a 20-20 game was Sam Whitehead, who scored 20 points and grabbed 21 rebounds on Dec. 3, 1971 versus Hawaii. The Beavers lost that game 76-73. . Wayne Tinkle is in his first year coaching the Beavers. In eight years at Montana, he led the Grizzlies to three NCAA Tournament appearances.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
MVSU had been outrebounded by an average of 17 in its first seven games. Oregon State has grabbed more rebounds than the opposition in five of its first six games.
THE JUCO CONNECTION
The Delta Devils have nine players on their roster who played for junior college teams, including DeAngelo Priar.
UP NEXT
Mississippi Valley State: at Northwestern State on Dec. 14.
Oregon State: at Portland on Saturday.
