COMING UP: at Crossroads/Cascade Classic (Winona Lake, Ind.) – vs. No. 8 Grace, Friday, 7 p.m. (EST); vs. Bethel, Saturday, 3 p.m. (EST)
WATCH LIVE: A live broadcast will be available online for fans to watch through the Grace College
LiveStream Channel (PPV), with Live Stats available through Grace's
SIDEARM Stats Portal.
92.5 KLAD-FM TO CARRY ALL 28 GAMES: All 28 regular-season men's basketball games, along with all potential postseason contests, will be broadcast live in the Klamath Basin on Oregon's Country Giant, 92.5 KLAD-FM. Hall of Fame Voice of the Owls, Bobby Thompson, returns for his 33rd year behind the microphone, joined by new OIT sports information director, Mike Safford. Each broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off with the
Justin Parnell Show, with fans outside the KLAD listening area able to listen
online.
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE NAIA?: The first eight games of the 2022-23 season for the Owls will be among the most difficult of any NAIA team in the association. Tech opened the season against No. 6-ranked William Jessup and have headed to Indiana to face No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan. This Friday, OIT will meet No. 8-ranked Grace in the opener of the Crossroads/Cascade Classic, presented by Cascade Hoops Talk and close the trip against former NAIA champion, Bethel. After games against Pacific Union and Simpson, Tech will open CCC play at Eastern Oregon and No. 3-ranked College of Idaho – four Top-10 teams in the first eight games.
WELCOME TO INDIANA BASKETBALL: The Hustlin' Owls head to uncharted waters this week – venturing to the Midwest for the first time in program history – and just the fourth regular-season road trip east of the Rocky Mountains. OIT will meet Indiana Wesleyan on Tuesday, followed by Grace and Bethel over the weekend as part of the Crossroads/Cascade Classic, presented by Cascade Hoops Talk. Hall of Fame coach Danny Miles made three long trips in his 45-year career – playing Southern Mississippi, South Alabama and Texas Christian in 1979, playing New Orleans, Ole Miss and Jackson State in 1985, while in 1989, traveled to Springfield, Mo., to play a trio of NAIA teams in Oklahoma Christian, Park and McKendree.
AGAINST INDIANA TEAMS: Oregon Tech has played 12 previous games against teams from Indiana, heading into the tournament with a 6-6 all-time mark. The Owls are 1-2 against St. Francis, 1-3 vs. Indiana Wesleyan (including Tuesday's loss) and 0-1 vs. Bethel, while posting 1-0 records against Grace, IU-Kokomo, IU-East and Indiana Tech.
CROSSROADS/CASCADE CLASSIC: Announced in 2021, the Crossroads/Cascade Classic, presented by Cascade Hoops Talk, will feature two teams from both the Crossroads League and the Cascade Conference – with the 2022 tournament held in Winona Lake, Ind., and the 2023 tournament at Danny Miles Court in Klamath Falls. The four programs in the 2022 tournament (OIT, Bushnell, Grace, Bethel) have combined for 54 NAIA tournament appearances, 89 national tournament wins, 43 conference championships and six NAIA national championships.
REMATCH WITH GRACE: OIT has met Grace once before, on the way to the 2008 NAIA Division II national title. The Owls topped the Lancers, 81-70, in the national quarterfinals, behind 23 points from All-American Ryan Fiegi. The starting point-guard for the Grace squad was current head coach, Scott Moore.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – GRACE: Tech meets their third-straight team that played in the NAIA Final 16 last March in Kansas City, as the Lancers (3-0) were knocked out of the tournament by College of Idaho, 71-66 (both Grace and Indiana Wesleyan lost in the Round of 16, William Jessup lost in the national quarterfinals). Grace returns nearly their entire squad, including NCCAA Player of the Year, 6-foot-7 forward Frankie Davison (17.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.3 bpg), who has converted 69-percent of his field goal attempts this season. Brothers Jakob Gibbs (12.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Cade Gibbs (15.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg) start together; sophomore Ian Scott (17.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg) has converted 22-of-26 field goal attempts this season; with post Elijah Moore (12.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg) a force on the block. Grace is among the national leaders, making 57-percent of their field goals through three games and holds a plus-13 rebound margin.
REMATCH WITH BETHEL: Nearly 25 years ago, OIT and Bethel met in an epic showdown in Nampa, Idaho – playing for the 1998 NAIA Division II national title. Despite 21 points from Matt Foster and 18 more from Kevin Carlston, OIT was sunk on a buzzer-beating jumper from Pilots All-American Rico Swanson, 89-87.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – BETHEL: Picked sixth in the Crossroads League preseason poll, the Pilots (3-0) are off to a tremendous start – picking up lopsided wins over Calumet (83-66), Holy Cross (80-55) and Indiana-South Bend (98-78), behind an offense that has connected on 47-percent of their 3-point attempts. Prep school standout Chikara Tanaka (22.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Division I transfer Drew Lutz (20.3 ppg, 7.3 apg, 5.0 rpg) from Incarnate Word, have combined to make 26-of-48 3-point attempts this season. Jacksonville State transfer Tanguy Touse (12.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) has canned 55-percent of his triples, with forward Nathan Aarts (11.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg) the top rebounder.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: Two of the four teams to win three NAIA Division II national championships (from 1992-2020) met Tuesday night – as Oregon Tech won titles in 2004, 2008 and 2012, while Indiana Wesleyan claimed the red banner in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Bethel, who meets the Owls on Saturday, won championships in 1995, 1997 and 1998, while Cornerstone earned titles in 1999, 2011 and 2015. Oklahoma City holds the most NAIA titles (NAIA Division I) with six.
A PAGE OUT OF HOOSIERS: OIT's first experience of Indiana basketball mirrored that of Norman Dale, fabled basketball coach of the Hickory Huskers in the 1986 movie Hoosiers. Dale's first game in the film against Oolitic saw his team fall behind 12-2 in the opening quarter – and eventually losing with just four players on the floor. For the Owls, Tech took a 3-2 lead before Indiana Wesleyan raced away on a 28-3 run and eventually led 51-13 – rolling to the win. The award-winning movie ends with Dale's Hickory team – winning the Indiana High School state championship.
TALE OF TWO GAMES: The difference between OIT's win over No. 6-ranked William Jessup and loss to No. 5-ranked Indiana Wesleyan is evident in the box score. The Owls took 56 shots in both contests – making 34 (61-percent) in the win, while making 18 (32-percent) in the loss. The same can be said for 3-point percentage – OIT making 11-of-24 against Jessup and 5-of-20 vs. Wesleyan. Tech committed 22 turnovers in Tuesday's loss, but only nine against WJU. Defensively, the Owls held Jessup to 41-percent shooting and five made 3-pointers, while the Indiana side converted 56-percent of their field goals and hit 11-of-23 from long range.
NEWCOMERS LEAD THE ATTACK: The Owls were paced against IWU by
Kody Bauman, as the transfer converted 4-of-5 field goal attempts, scoring 11 points with four rebounds. Fellow transfer,
Jay Elmore, had eight points – making 2-of-5 3-point shots – while freshman
Noah Thomas scored eight points with two rebounds and a steal and redshirt freshman
Grant Tull converting his first career points and adding three rebounds.
RARE LOPSIDED LOSS: The 94-57 decision in Luckey Arena was the worst loss for the Hustlin' Owls since a 103-66 loss at Warner Pacific during the 2015-16 season. Tech teams have lost games by 38-or-more points eight times – including a 105-57 loss at Portland State in 1976, a 99-55 loss to College of Idaho in 1996, a 100-56 loss at Central Washington in 1971 and a 119-73 loss at Western Washington in 1971.
FEWEST POINTS IN A HALF: The 13 points scored by the Owls in the first half at Indiana Wesleyan marked the fourth time since 2001 that the club failed to score 20 in a period. OIT scored 19 first half points at Menlo in 2016, 18 first half points at Bushnell in 2013 and 15 points at Bushnell in 2016. The fewest points an Hustlin' Owls team scored in a first half was in 1982 – as Tech held a 12-8 lead at Seattle University en route to a 31-24 victory.
AROUND THE CASCADE CONFERENCE: Along with OIT and Bushnell playing in the Crossroads/Cascade Classic, multiple CCC teams will have tough weekend opponents – as 11 of the 12 teams in the circuit will be in action. Three teams will meet Frontier Conference squads – as both Walla Walla and Lewis-Clark State play Providence in Lewiston, while Eastern Oregon travels to Big Sky country to face Montana Western and Montana Tech. Southern Oregon will have their own Crossroads Classic – as Huntington of Indiana meets the Raiders in Ashland, with Corban trekking to California for a key showdown at Westmont. Three teams hit the Division III trail – as Warner Pacific meets Pacific Lutheran, Multnomah meets Pacific, with Northwest facing both Puget Sound and Linfield.
RECORD BOOK: Four members of the Hustlin' Owls are among the Top-75 in the
OIT Men's Basketball Career Record Book.
Kaison Faust ranks No. 42 in free throw attempts (249), No. 43 in free throws made (176) and blocked shots (23), No. 48 in rebounds (410), No. 58 in games played (87), No. 60 in steals (56), No. 66 in field goals made (292) and No. 72 in points scored (760);
Keegan Shivers is No. 44 in 3-pointers made (84) and No. 52 in 3-point attempts (207);
Joey Potts is No. 25 in blocked shots (39); with
Jamison Guerra No. 68 in assists (139).
SUCCESS IN DANNY'S HOUSE: Since OIT moved to their current campus in 1964, the Hustlin' Owls have had a decisive home floor advantage inside the Athletic Center – winning nearly 82-percent of their home games. In the first 58 seasons Tech has played on what is now known as Danny Miles Court, the Owls hold a 767-171 overall record in the building – including a 80-11 mark under current head coach
Justin Parnell. OIT has recorded a winning record in 56-of-58 seasons (going 5-7 in 1965-66 and 1-8 in 1970-71), including undefeated records four times (1986-87, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11).
TICKET INFORMATION: Basketball Season Tickets are currently on sale for the 2022-23 season – with general admission season tickets being offered at a special $75 price to commemorate the 75th anniversary of OIT. Single-game tickets ($15 for reserved seats, $10 for general admission seating, $5 general admission tickets for senior citizen, veterans and kids 6-to-17) can be purchased beginning one hour prior to tip-off or online through the
OIT Ticket Portal.
LOOKING AHEAD: OIT returns home next Saturday night for a match-up against California Pacific Conference foe Pacific Union. Tip-off from Danny Miles Court is set for 8:30 p.m.
