The No. 9 seed Oregon State Beavers got off to a sizzling start to open the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament at Staples Center in Los Angeles, building a 24-8 lead over the No. 8 seed Washington State Cougars. But Washington State clawed their way back into the game thanks to hot shooting of their own, and the Cougars lead 39-38 at halftime of their first round battle.
Marcus Capers led a balanced scoring attack for the Cougars with eight points, making all four of his field goal attempts. Washington State shot a sizzling 65.4% (17 for 26) in the opening half. Reggie Moore had seven points and seven assists for the Cougars.
Ahmad Starks led Oregon State with 12 points, hitting four of his seven three-point attempts. Devon Collier added nine points and three rebounds for the Beavers, who shot 51.7% (15 for 29) in the first half.
Washington State and Oregon State tied with a 7-11 conference record, but the Cougars won the tiebreakers by virtue of beating the Beavers twice this season.
Here is the full bracket in PDF form. For more on the Washington State Cougars, head to CougCenter. For more on the Beavs, head over to Building the Dam.