GAME NOTES: Oregon State looks to bounce back Saturday, but the Beavers will have their work cut out for them against the hot-shooting Washington State Cougars in a Pac-12 clash.

Washington State has been on a bit of a winning streak lately, winning five of its last six games to stay near the top of the conference standings despite a mediocre 9-7 overall record.

On Thursday, the Cougars improved to 3-1 in conference play when they survived Oregon, 108-99, in overtime. The game featured 23 lead changes and 18 ties, and the difference was the Cougars making their first nine free throws in the extra session.

Josh Hawkinson scored 26 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to lead the way, while three other players contributed double-digit efforts in the high-scoring affair. Davonte Lacy poured in 24 points, Ike Iroegbu 20 and Brett Boese 16 points off the bench, as he converted 4-of-6 shots behind the 3-point line.

Lacy owns the team's scoring lead at 17.4 ppg on 41.8 percent shooting from the floor. Hawkinson maintains a healthy 15.7 ppg average and an 11.1 rpg mark this season. The Cougars are scoring 74.8 ppg this season on 45.5 percent shooting, but the team's scoring defense hasn't been so strong, allowing 78.2 ppg to opponents, ranking last in the conference.

Oregon State is coming off its worst offensive showing of the season as the Beavers dropped an ugly 56-43 decision to Washington on Thursday. They netted just 15 points in the first half and turned the ball over 15 times in the setback, which dropped them to 11-5 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Malcolm Duvivier and Jarmal Reid were the only Oregon State players who finished in double figures, netting 10 points apiece. The team was without third leading scorer Victor Robbins (10.3 ppg) due to a suspension.

Leading scorer Gary Payton II shot just 1-for-7 from the floor and scored just four points. His average dipped to 11.8 ppg, but still leads the team in steals (2.8 spg) and has 18 blocked shot. Langston Morris-Walker is second on the squad at 10.2 ppg, while Olaf Schaftenaar is just under 10 ppg.

These teams have square off a whopping 290 times, with Oregon State winning 167 of those meetings, including the last three.

The Cougars can end the series skid if keep up their offensive efficiency, and while it will be much more difficult against Payton and Co., they should have just enough to pull out a close win.