COMING UP: Host Lithia Cascade vs. Crossroads Classic, presented by Cascade Hoops Talk – No. 2 Grace vs. Bushnell, Friday, 5:30 p.m.; Bethel vs. Oregon Tech, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Bethel vs. Bushnell, Saturday, 3 p.m.; No. 2 Grace vs. Oregon Tech, 7:30 p.m.
COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
GAME DAY INFORMATION: All 28 regular-season men's basketball games and all postseason contests will be broadcast live on
92.5 KLAD-FM with Mike Safford calling the action –with the
Justin Parnell Show beginning 30 minutes prior to tip-off. In addition, the remaining games of the tournament will be carried live on in the Basin on
104.3/960 Sports. All broadcasts will be simulcast with video on the
Owls Sports Network, with Live Stats available through OIT's
SIDEARM Stats Portal. Both single-game and season tickets for the 2023-24 season are available online through the
OIT Ticket Portal.
MULTIMEDIA: All photos from the 2023-24 season will be posted online via the
OIT Men's Basketball Flickr Page, while highlight clips and interviews will be posted online via the new
OIT Men's Basketball YouTube Channel.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT: BETHEL: Tech will meet Bethel University, from Mishawaka, Ind., for the third time, looking to avenge a pair of 2-point losses to the Pilots (1-0) – one last season and the other in the 1998 NAIA Division II championship game. BU finished last season with a 20-13 overall record, losing in the first-round of the NAIA Championships, but qualifying and winning the NCCAA national title. The squad has had to replace five of their top-eight scorers from last season, but the offense, which averaged 83 points per game, is paced by All-Crossroads League guard Drew Lutz (22.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 6.0 apg). In addition, the Pilots return forwards Nathan Aerts (15.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Alonas Peciulius (7.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) – with the trio of returners combining for 49 points in BU's 101-77 victory over Calumet-Saint Joseph in last week's opener.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT: GRACE: The tournament will conclude on Saturday night with a date against the defending NAIA national quarterfinalists and preseason No. 2 ranked team in the association, Grace College of Winona Lake, Ind. The Lancers (2-0), coming off a 31-4 campaign, winning the Crossroads League regular-season and tournament titles, opened the new year with a 112-50 victory over Kentucky Christian and an 89-66 win over Madonna. Grace averaged 85 points a game last season, ranking among the national leaders in field goal percentage (.536), paced by second-team All-American, 6-foot-10 post Elijah Malone (14.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg). Guards Jakob Gibbs (14.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and Cade Gibbs (11.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg) both return, along with forward Ian Scott (9.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg), who connected on 72-percent of his field goals last season. OIT and the Lancers met once prior to last season – a Hustlin' Owls 81-70 victory over Grace at the 2012 NAIA Division II national tournament.
THE OTHER TOURNAMENT TEAM: The fourth team in the Classic is Cascade Conference rival, Bushnell University, as the Beacons (0-0) open the regular-season at the tournament. BU dropped an exhibition game last weekend to the Seattle Mountaineers, 100-81, despite returning all five starters from last season's 12-17 squad. CCC Newcomer of the Year, 6-foot-11 post Spencer Hoffman (16.3, 9.1 rpg) anchors the squad, along with a guard line paced by 4-time All-CCC pick, Stevie Schlabach (15.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Kaden Sand (9.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Trevon Richmond (9.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg).
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Cascade Hoops Talk, a podcast produced by OIT alum and booster, Bill DeWitt, spearheaded the idea of pitting two of the top NAIA conferences together in a preseason tournament. Last season, the Hustlin' Owls and Bushnell made the trip to Winona Lake, Ind., squaring off in the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center against Grace and Bethel. Day 1 of the event had Bethel defeat Bushnell, 101-91, behind 36 points from Drew Lutz, while Grace rallied in the second half to top Tech, 82-77, as Frankie Davidson scored 25 points. Day 2 had Grace put five players in double-figures in an 89-66 win over Bushnell, while Bethel got 28 points from Lutz and withstood a last second game-tying attempt from the Owls in an 87-85 win.
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. Over the last 59 seasons Tech has played on what is now known as Danny Miles Court, the Owls hold a 775-176 overall record in the building – including an 88-16 mark under current head coach
Justin Parnell. OIT has recorded a winning record in 57-of-59 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). OIT finished 2022-23 with an 8-5 home record, their 52nd-straight winning season on their home floor.
NATIONAL POLL: Tech received four voter points in the preseason NAIA Top-25 poll – snapping a 5-year string of Top-25 starts to a season. Conference rival, College of Idaho, was ranked No. 1 in the poll, while Eastern Oregon joined OIT in the others receiving votes category. Two preseason opponents – Grace (at No. 2) and Bethel (ORV) – were also in the tabulation.
SEASON OPENING WIN: The Hustlin' Owls dominated play in their season opening 93-67 victory over Simpson University, running their home opener win streak to 22 games. OIT connected on 55-percent of their field goal chances, including 26-of-37 from 2-point range – adding 17 assists on the 34 made field goals. Tech finished the night with a plus-14 rebound margin, while limiting the Redhawks to 42-percent shooting from the field, including a 33-percent clip from 3-point range.
SHIVERS LEADS THE CHARGE: Junior
Keegan Shivers opened his 2023-24 season where he left off a year ago, leading the squad with 18 points and eight rebounds in the home win. The guard scored the first points of the year with his 148th career 3-pointer – adding three-additional triples on the night. The double-digit scoring night marked the 41st game time in Shivers' OIT career he has tallied 10-plus points, moving 186 points away from the 1,000-mark.
OSBORN RETURNS IN A BIG WAY: A big scoring night welcomed
Kam Osborn back into the OIT line-up, as the guard made his first regular-season game action since January of 2023. The fifth-year junior shared high-point honors on the night, scoring 18 points – equaling his season-high from last year against both Corban and Lewis-Clark State. Osborn cashed in from the foul line, converting all eight free throw attempts.
WELCOME BACK FRASER: The Owls got a huge energy boost from
Erik Fraser, as the guard made his long-awaited return after missing the last two months of the 2022-23 season due to injury. Fraser, who hadn't seen the court since Dec. 30, 2022, played 13 minutes in the victory, scoring two points, adding six rebounds and two assists.
GUERRA AT THE POINT: An efficient night from
Jamison Guerra helped OIT earn the home win, as the junior scored 13 points with six assists. It marked the 17th time in Guerra's four seasons with the Owls that he's posted 6-or-more assists in a game.
ON THE BLOCK: The trio of
Blake Jensen,
Kody Bauman and
Jackson Cooper were key in the win over Simpson combining for 34 points and 13 rebounds. Jensen made 5-of-6 field goals, scoring 13 points, with seven rebounds and three blocks; Bauman made 4-of-5 field goals, scoring 11 points with three rebounds; while Cooper added six points and three rebounds in his collegiate debut.
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: OIT was one of three teams in the CCC to open play last week – as Corban dropped an overtime decision at the University of Providence, while Walla Walla picked up a surprising 80-76 road win against crosstown rival, Whitman College. Multiple teams make their season debut this weekend – as Eastern Oregon travels to Montana for games against Montana Western and Montana Tech, Southern Oregon heads to California to play Menlo and Jessup, Warner Pacific meets Western Oregon, Corban travels to Pacific, Evergreen State hosts Lincoln (Calif.) and Northwest meets Portland Bible.
CAREER RECORD BOOK: Seven members of the Hustlin' Owls are among the Top-75 in the
OIT Men's Basketball Career Record Book, heading into the 2023-24 season.
Keegan Shivers leads the group, ranking No. 18 in 3-pointers made (151), No. 22 in 3-point attempts (369), No. 61 in steals (56) and field goal attempts (637), No. 63 in rebounds (373), No. 64 in assists (151) and points scored (814) and No. 71 in field goals made (276).
Jamison Guerra is No. 30 in assists (259), No. 59 in 3-point attempts (178), No. 64 in steals (53) and 3-pointers made (50), ranking No. 66 in free throws made (139) and No. 73 in free throw attempts (176);
Erik Fraser is No. 66 in 3-point attempts (141) and No. 68 in 3-pointers made (49);
Jay Elmore is No. 64 in 3-pointers made (50) and No. 70 in 3-point attempts (129);
Kam Osborn is No. 70 in 3-pointers made (44) and No. 71 in 3-point attempts (127); with
Kody Bauman and
Blake Jensen each No. 59 in blocked shots (17).
3-POINT STREAK NEARING THE 1,000 MARK: The 3-point shot has been key to the Hustlin' Owls success over the years, with Tech converting at least one 3-pointer in 984 consecutive games. OIT last failed to make a 3-pointer on Dec. 4, 1992, at Humboldt State, going 0-for-7 from outside the arch. During the streak, the Owls made one 3-pointer in a game on five occasions. UNLV holds the current 3-point streak record (1,193), just ahead of CCC rival Corban (1,181), Duke (1,148), College of Idaho (1,123) and Western Kentucky (1,102).
NEXT WEEK: The Owls will start a 3-game road swing on Saturday (Nov. 10), traveling to Rocklin, Calif., for a mid-afternoon match-up at Jessup University. Tech will follow games in Arizona against OUAZ (Nov. 15) and Embry-Riddle (Nov. 17), before finally returning home on Dec. 1 to open Cascade Conference play against Eastern Oregon for Military Appreciation Night.
