Final Score: Washington State 71, Oregon State 68

Corvallis, OR (Sports Network) - Behind a career-high 23 points from Mike Ladd, the Washington State Cougars held off the Oregon State Beavers, 71-68, in a Pac-12 Conference battle at Gill Coliseum.

Ladd was nearly perfect on the night, shooting 10-of-11 from the field for Washington State (11-9, 2-5 Pac-12), which had lost its previous two games. Brock Motum tallied a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and while D.J. Shelton struggled from the field (2-of-10), he handed out six assists and grabbed 10 rebounds.

For Oregon State (11-9, 1-6), Ahmad Starks tallied 17 points and eight assists, while Roberto Nelson and Devon Collier scored 14 points apiece.

Oregon State shot 44.8 percent from the field and drained five 3-pointers in the first half, as it took a 33-29 lead into intermission.

Washington State took control after halftime thanks in large part to a 15-5 run to take a 59-51 advantage with less than seven minutes to play. The Beavers cut their deficit to one possession on several occasions, including to 69-68 on a Starks layup with nine seconds left. Royce Woolridge drained a pair of free throws for the Cougars, and a Starks 3-point attempt in the waning seconds did not fall.

Washington State shot 14-of-18 from the free throw line on the night, while Oregon State was just 7-of-13 from the stripe.