NEU » ching staff at the World Cup. But th

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Oregon State trailed at halftime, and coaches told players to be more physical, take care of the ball and get into a rhythm on offense.The group we have are competitors and they all want to win. Well do whatever it takes to try to come back and chip away at the lead, and sure enough, we did, said Tres Tinkle.Tinkle had a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds as Oregon State stormed back in the second half to defeat Texas-San Antonio 72-64 on Sunday afternoon.Drew Eubanks and JaQuori McLaughlin each had 13 points for the Beavers (2-0).Guys I thought showed a ton of resiliency and toughness, which is great for us early in the year, said Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle, Tres Tinkles father.Jeff Beverly scored 12 points and Lucas OBrien had 10 points but both fouled out for the Roadrunners (0-2), who have lost both their games this season to teams that were in the NCAA Tournament last year.I was proud of the way our guys competed. We did a really good job defensively in the first half. We were in foul trouble again. We have to figure out a way to defend without fouling, said first-year Roadrunners coach Steve Henson.Were going to be a good ballclub at the end of the year, he added.Texas-San Antonio (0-2) led 37-29 at the break, but Oregon State opened the second half on an 11-2 run, capped by a Tinkle 3-pointer, to take a 40-39 lead and seize the momentum.The Roadrunners trailed 61-50 when they responded with a 9-0 surge, punctuated by a Giovanni De Nicolao layup with 4:38 remaining.With 1:44 left and Oregon State up 67-63, the Roadrunners had a chance to cut into the lead, but Tinkle had a block in a wild sequence near the basket where the Beavers ended up with the ball. On the next possession, McLaughlin scored a layup.Oregon State held the Roadrunners to 24 percent shooting in the second half.BIG PICTURETexas-San Antonio: J.R. Harris injured his right leg about midway through the first half and finished with eight points in six minutes. ... The Roadrunners early season schedule features plenty of travel, as the team plays eight of its first 11 games away from home.Oregon State: Stephen Thompson Jr., Oregon States third-leading scorer last season, missed the game for precautionary reasons with a left foot injury. He could be back in the lineup on Wednesday. Wayne Tinkle said that none of the guards active for Sundays game played a minute last season, but players stepped up. Losing Stevie, hes a guy thats capable of getting 20, 25. ... Thats big, he added.FREE THROWSFor the second straight game, the opposing coach pointed to Oregon States aggressiveness in driving to the basket as being the difference. They went at us and got to the free-throw line, Henson said. The Beavers made 23 of 37 free throws, while the Roadrunners were 18 of 27.NO RESTTres Tinkle is recovering from a foot injury, but with the close game, he played 38 minutes. I kept saying to the staff on the bench, `Ive got to take Tres out. Ive got to take Tres out. I cant play him this much, Wayne Tinkle said.UP NEXTTexas-San Antonio: Plays Wednesday at Illinois-Chicago, which lost their season opener at San Francisco on Friday.Oregon State: Hosts Lamar on Wednesday. The Cardinals are 1-0, but were picked to finish 12th out of 13 teams in the Southland Conference. Billy Smith Jersey . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Jordan Eberle Islanders Jersey .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. http://www.islanderssale.com/authentic-matt-martin-islanders-jersey/ . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Jordan Eberle Jersey . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. Josh Bailey Islanders Jersey . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. After the Carolina Hurricanes were dumped 5-1 by the?New Jersey Devils?on Dec. 3, they officially became the worst team in the NHL. The Hurricanes were 30th in the standings, and 29th in goal differential, the power play and the penalty kill. Carolina called up some youngsters, and the youth movement, already in progress, was in full bloom.And then a funny thing happened to the Canes: They got younger and then they got better. They went 27-18-12 over their final 57 games -- a 95-point pace, projected over a full season -- and finished sixth on the penalty kill. It wasnt until Game 79 that Carolina was officially eliminated from the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.And we did that with a lot of young pieces, Hurricanes general manager and Hall of Famer Ron Francis said recently. Uncertainty remains at the ownership level as longtime owner Peter Karmanos continues to try to sell a portion of the team, sparking periodic rumors that it will relocate. That talk will die down -- and perhaps it will be easier to sell part or all of the team -- if the Canes continue to evolve on the ice.Biggest new facesFrancis was busy during the offseason, continuing to try to rebuild a franchise that had fallen into disrepair since its last playoff berth, a surprise trip to the 2009 Eastern Conference finals. Smallish but skilled Teuvo Teravainen joins an emerging young cast of forwards that includes new No. 1 center Victor Rask. Rask?had 21 goals last season, behind only team leader Jeff Skinner (28).Bryan Bickell came in the Teravainen deal as part of a salary dump by the?Chicago Blackhawks, but Francis is hoping Bickell can regain the form that saw him become an integral part of Chicagos 2013 Stanley Cup run. Veterans Lee Stempniak and Viktor Stalberg will help provide leadership in a room in which eight of the teams top nine returning scorers were born in the 1990s. The ninth in that group is graybeard?Jordan Staal, who just turned 28.Biggest unknownsWhile the Canes ended up middle of the pack in terms of goals allowed after a slow start, they were 27th in goals scored per game and 24th with the man advantage.Skinner, Rask and Staal are the only returnees who scored 20 or more goals last season. A more dynamic offense could pave the way to a long-awaited return to the playoffs.ddddddddddddCan the youthful defense continue its evolution? Noah Hanifin, Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce look to form half of Carolinas back end. All are big and skilled with tremendous upside. In fact, Slavin may yet turn out to be the best of the bunch. Jaccob is every underrated, I think, outside our team, Francis said.The plan, however, is to play the heck out of the group, says the GM. We dont hide them, said Francis. If they make a mistake, we put them right back out there.Finally, and this may be the most critical of the uncertainties, how will the goaltending shake out? There were more than a few arched eyebrows when longtime Carolina netminder Cam Ward was re-signed by the team. Eddie Lack had been extended after Lack came over from the?Vancouver Canucks,?but neither netminder was particularly good early last season. Francis did explore some trades and free agents but ultimately figured the two goalies he has represent the best options moving forward. If hes right, the Canes will be in the playoffs.Sure thingsIts still a bit hard to believe that Justin Faulk wasnt among those asked to represent the United States at the World Cup of Hockey, especially given the teams poor showing at the tournament. But Faulk may use that as incentive to continue his strong play in Carolina. He had 16 goals last season, tied for seventh among NHL defensemen, and his four game-winners were tied for fifth most.Head coach Bill Peters missed part of training camp because he was part of Canadas coaching staff at the World Cup. But there seems to be little doubt that Peters and his coaching staff, which includes longtime former Hurricane Rod BrindAmour and veteran NHL defenseman Steve Smith, are keys to keeping this young team marching forward.PredictionTheres so much uncertainty at the bottom end of the Eastern Conference standings that you can make a case for most, if not all, of the division teams that didnt make the playoffs to bounce back and sneak into one of the final few? postseason spots this season. Carolina is one of those teams. Third in the Metropolitan Division. ' ' '