Oliver scores 24 to lead Nevada past Oregon State 83-58

RENO, Nev. (AP) Cameron Oliver scored 24 points on 9 of 12 shooting as Nevada cruised to an 83-58 victory against Oregon State on Friday night.

Nevada (2-1) took a 48-25 advantage into halftime and never trailed.

''It was sweet, man. It was sweet,'' said Oliver, a sophomore who originally signed with Oregon State before starting his collegiate career to Nevada last year. ''Playing against Oregon State, I'll always have a chip on my shoulder. Every time I play them, I really want to show them that aggression.''

Oliver left Oregon State after former head coach Craig Robinson was fired in 2014. Oliver said Friday the coaching change led to him leaving the program and coming to Nevada.

''I think he was focused tonight and he took really good shots and he got into a rhythm and they had absolutely no answer for him at all,'' Nevada head coach Eric Musselman said.

Oliver added seven rebounds.

Nevada shot 48 percent from the field. Oregon State (2-2) shot 46 percent.

Tres Tinkle led Oregon State (2-2) with 16 points on 7 of 16 shooting. Beaver forward Gligorije Rakocevic scored 10 points with seven rebounds.

''We're young,'' Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle. ''We have to understand our scouting report and execution. Those are things we got to get better at. We've got a lot of guys that haven't played any college basketball. We have one senior. But that's really no excuse.''

Nevada outrebounded Oregon State, 37-32. Wolf Pack forward Jordan Caroline led all players with 12 rebounds.

Nevada guard D.J. Fenner added 17 points.

The Wolf Pack jumped out to a 10-4 lead before the first timeout and stretched its lead to 22-10 with 10:32 in the first half when guard Marcus Marshall found Oliver racing toward the basket on a fast break, which he finished with one of his several dunks.

On Nevada's final possession of the first half with seven seconds on the clock, Marshall dribbled off the inbound, stopped about eight feet behind the three-point line and converted on yet another Nevada field goal as the first half ended.

After entering the break down 23 points, Oregon State failed to cut the deficit under 21 points in the second half.

''I thought our intensity from the opening tip was really, really good,'' Musselman said.

BIG PICTURE

Oregon State: After turning the ball over 27 times in a 63-60 upset loss at home against Lamar, Oregon State's struggles continued at Nevada. The Beavers will look to bounce back Tuesday at Tulsa.

Nevada: Nevada won one of its most high-profiled out of conference home games of the season and looks to continue that momentum as one of eight teams in the Great Alaska Shootout beginning Sunday with a tournament home game against Iona.

UP NEXT

Oregon State goes to Tulsa for a game Tuesday.

Nevada stays at home to face Iona on Sunday night.