COMING UP: at Jessup, Saturday, 2 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, with Live Stats available through OIT's SIDEARM Stats 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.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – JESSUP: Tech opens the road portion of their schedule Saturday at Jessup (formerly, William Jessup), as the Warriors (3-1) have a completely new look to their squad. JU has a new head coach in Mark Darnall, with the team returning just three players from a team that finished 16-13 in 2022-23. The new-look Warriors opened with a shocking 61-49 loss to SAGU-American Indian, but have rattled off 3-straight victories – including home wins over MSU-Northern and Southern Oregon and a road win at Cal Maritime. All-GSAC pick Myles Corey (15.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg) returns, but the bulk of the offense is newcomers – as Ja'Maris Blackmon (11.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and Ayden Janssan (9.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg) are joined by top reserve Anthoy Enoh (12.7 ppg, 10.0 rpg). JU is averaging 71 points per game, but converting just 24-percent of their 3-point chances and averaging 14 turnovers a night.
 
HISTORY VS. THE WARRIORS: The Owls will meet Jessup for the 41st time, holding a 31-9 series edge – dating back to the 1987 season (when the school was known as San Jose Christian). Warrior Arena has been a tough place to play for Tech – as the Owls have not won in Rocklin since the 2015 – including a tough 93-89 decision in the second-round of the 2022 NAIA National Tournament. Last season, the teams opened up the campaign in Klamath, with OIT earning a 95-76 victory.
 
IS IT THE FINAL TIME?: OIT has a 28-22 all-time record against the Golden State Athletic Conference – facing off against 12 opponents from the league. Of the teams – one is currently in the NCAA Division I and five others have transitioned to the NCAA Division II. Of the six remaining teams, three teams – Menlo College, Vanguard University and Jessup – will all leave the GSAC next year and join the Division II Pacific West Conference (joining former GSAC teams Biola, Concordia-Irvine, Fresno Pacific, Point Loma and Westmont).
 
TECH GAINS IN THE TOP-25 POLL: The first regular-season NAIA Top-25 poll was released on Wednesday, with OIT climbing in the vote category – rising from five voter points in the preseason poll to 38 voter points – the seventh team listed in the others receiving votes category. Two Hustlin' Owl opponents hold down the top two spots (No. 1 College of Idaho, No. 2 Grace), while next Wednesday's opponent, OUAZ, along with Bethel, joined OIT in the others receiving votes category.
 
TOURNEY A SUCCESS: Just as the original was in Winona Lake, Ind., the second edition of the Cascade vs. Crossroads Classic was a major success – as the Klamath Basin turned out to support the Hustlin' Owls, Bushnell, Grace and Bethel. Over the two tournaments, Grace finished with a 4-0 record, Bethel was 3-1, OIT posted a 1-3 mark and Bushnell was 0-4. Special thanks to Cascade Hoops Talk and Bill DeWitt for his support in organizing the event.
 
A CLOSE WIN: Tech earned a win in a tight game against Bethel to start 2023-24, turning the tables on a tough season a year ago, where the club finished 2-7 in games decided in the final three minutes. OIT posted an overtime win at Simpson and won at Southern Oregon last season, but had five games decided by one possession – including three inside the final 30 seconds.
 
VALUING THE BALL / STOPPING THE 3: The Owls have maximized their possessions through the first three games – averaging just 10.7 turnovers per game, nearly two full turnovers less than last season. Defensively, Tech has limited the 3-point shot – as Simpson, Bethel and Grace have combined to convert just 24-percent of their 3-point chances – including 7-of-40 shooting from outside the arc in the Cascade vs. Crossroads Classic.
 
GUERRA NAMED CCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Point-guard Jamison Guerra was instrumental in Friday's big win over Bethel, with the effort netting him Rize Laboratory-Cascade Conference Player of the Week. The junior scored 23 points and tied a career-high with eight assists in the big win – including six consecutive free throws inside the final minute, giving the Owls the lead for good. Guerra is the only player on the team to score in double-figures in all three games (including 10 points and six assists vs. Grace), making 51-percent of his field goals – averaging 15.3 points and 6.7 assists.
 
OSBORN LEADS THE WAY VS. GRACE: Headlining the match-up against No. 2-ranked Grace College was fifth-year junior Kam Osborn, who finished the night with 23 points – his highest scoring game since the 2020-21 COVID spring season. Osborn has been key for the Owls through the first three games, leading the team in free throw percentage, converting 16-of-17 shots from the stripe.
 
SHIVERS TIES CAREER HIGH: Keegan Shivers continued a strong start to the 2023-24 season, scoring 13 points with six rebounds vs. Bethel, adding six points and 12 rebounds vs. Grace – tying his career-high for rebounds in a game. Shivers, who has connected on 39-percent of his 3-pointers on the year – moved into the Top-20 in program history in 3-pointers made (154) and is just 167 points away from the 1,000 mark in his career.
 
JENSEN DOUBLES UP: For the sixth time in his last 10 games, forward Blake Jensen recorded a double-double, posting 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Bethel. It was the third time in his OIT career that Jensen scored 15-or-more points, with the junior averaging 11 points and seven rebounds per game this season – converting 56-percent of his field goal chances.
 
FRASER FINDING HIS RHYTHM: After 10 months away from the court, Erik Fraser is working his way back into game shape – seeing his minutes rise from 13 in the opening win over Simpson, to 28 in Saturday's barnburner with Grace. The junior scored a season-high nine points, while adding six rebounds, in the win over Bethel, following it up with eight points (including two made 3-pointers) and four boards vs. Grace.
 
FASSILIS HAS IMPRESSIVE WEEKEND: Tech got a huge boost off the bench from true freshman Yanni Fassilis, who was instrumental in Friday's win over Bethel. The rookie played 14 minutes, scoring eight points with four rebounds, including a big 3-pointer in the second half that gave the Owls their largest lead of the night. Against Grace, Fassilis led all reserves with 19 minutes of action, scoring four points with three rebounds and an assist.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: It was an up-and-down week for the Cascade Conference, as Multnomah and Corban earned wins over Division III teams, Northwest and Lewis-Clark State earned wins against non-NCAA/NAIA clubs, with OIT (over Bethel) and College of Idaho (over Providence) earning key victories. On the flip side, Eastern Oregon went 0-2 in Montana, as did Southern Oregon (in California), Bushnell (in Klamath) and Evergreen State (at home). This week, Eastern Oregon and LC State will meet Arizona Christian in Lewiston, Southern Oregon and Corban are off to Montana – SOU meeting Montana Tech and Montana Western, Corban meeting Carroll and MSU-Northern, with Warner Pacific and Multnomah co-hosting a tournament with Providence and Westcliff.
 
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 weekend. Keegan Shivers leads the group, ranking No. 18 in 3-pointers made (154), No. 20 in 3-point attempts (377), No. 56 in field goal attempts (656), No. 58 in rebounds (391), No. 60 in points scored (833), No. 61 in steals (61), No. 62 in assists (155) and No. 69 in field goals made (284). Jamison Guerra is No. 29 in assists (273), No. 59 in 3-point attempts (183), No. 61 in free throws made (149), No. 62 in steals (55), No. 64 in 3-pointers made (51), ranking No. 68 in free throw attempts (191); Erik Fraser is No. 62 in 3-pointers made (52) and No. 65 in 3-point attempts (152); Jay Elmore is No. 62 in 3-pointers made (52) and No. 68 in 3-point attempts (136); Kam Osborn is No. 69 in both 3-pointers made (46) and 3-point attempts (133); with Kody Bauman and Blake Jensen each No. 57 in blocked shots (18).
 
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 over 81-percent of their home games. Over the last 60 seasons Tech has played on what is now known as Danny Miles Court, the Owls hold a 776-177 overall record in the building – including an 89-17 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 and has a 2-1 mark at home in 2023-24.
 
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 986 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 (1,183), Duke (1,148), College of Idaho (1,124) and Western Kentucky (1,102).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Hustlin' Owls close out their non-conference schedule next week with a trip to Arizona for road dates at OUAZ (Nov. 15) and at Embry-Riddle (Nov. 17), before finally returning home on Dec. 1 to open Cascade Conference play against Eastern Oregon for Military Appreciation Night.