Oregon Institute of Technology Athletics

COMING UP: at Bushnell, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; at Corban, Saturday, 5 p.m.
 
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 Jr. 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.
 
THANK YOU BOBBY T: Longtime Voice of the Owls, Bobby Thompson, has announced that the 2022-23 season will be his final year behind the microphone after an illustrious career calling OIT athletic events on the radio. On behalf of the men's basketball program and Hustlin' Owl athletics, we thank you Bobby for years of service to the school and telling the story of Oregon Tech.
 
WATCH ONLINE: Fans unable to attend in person will be able to watch this week's games live online through the Owls Sports Network (produced by Bushnell and Corban) – while Live Stats will be available for all fans through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal. 
 
HISTORY IN THE POSTSEASON: With the win Saturday over LC State, OIT clinched their 29th-straight postseason appearance, dating back to the 1992-93 season. The Owls have qualified for the postseason 48 times in the first 75 years of basketball, including 30 Cascade Conference Tournament appearances (tourney record of 37-23) and 22 trips to the NAIA National Tournament (tourney record of 39-18). Tech will open the 2023 CCC Tournament on the road next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (at a venue to be determined)
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: The Owls currently sit alone in sixth-place in the CCC standings heading into the final weekend of play – needing a win in one of their final two games to secure at worst the No. 6 seed. If Tech were to lose both weekend games, OIT would drop into the No. 7 seed – finishing second in a 3-way tiebreak with LC State and Bushnell, while losing head-to-head tiebreaks with both teams. If the Owls win both weekend games and Corban lost both weekend games, Tech would tie the Warriors for fifth-place – with the playoff positioning dependent on the number of teams .500 or better in league play and the final overall standings.
 
WIN STREAK: Tech ran their win streak to 4-in-a-row with weekend victories over Walla Walla and LC State, with the team winning six of their last seven contests. With the wins, it marks the tenth-straight season OIT has posted a win streak of 4-in-a-row.
 
GUERRA HONORED BY THE CCC: Point-guard Jamison Guerra continued his stellar play – earning Cascade Conference Player of the Week honors following wins over Walla Walla and Lewis-Clark State. The sophomore converted 11-of-16 field goals, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, averaging 16 points and seven assists in the two victories. Guerra has scored 10-or-more points in 9-straight games (averaging 15.6 points and 5.9 assists during the stretch) and ranks No. 4 in the conference in assists per game.

JENSEN EXTENDS DOUBLE-DOUBLE STREAK: Tech continues to get a big boost off the bench from Blake Jensen, as the sophomore recorded his third and fourth-straight double-doubles in the weekend victories. Jensen had 10 points and 14 points, adding a career-high four blocks vs. WWU, adding 11 points and 10 rebounds against LC. He becomes the first OIT player since current head coach Justin Parnell in 2009-10, to record 4-straight double-figure rebound games and is the first player since Christian Cavanaugh in 2007-08, to record 4-straight double-doubles.
 
SHIVERS CONTINUES SCORING RUN: Guard Keegan Shivers has been a catalyst to the Owls success in the last month, recording 7-straight double-digit scoring games. The sophomore had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists vs. Walla Walla, recording his third double-double of the year against LC State, scoring 17 points with 10 boards. Over the last seven games, Shivers is averaging a team-best 16.4 points a night.
 
UP FRONT: Tech received double-digit scoring numbers from each of their forwards (including Blake Jensen) in the weekend victories. Joey Potts scored 11 points in both games, adding 12 total rebounds and four blocks, Kody Bauman scored 10 points with seven boards against WWU and had 13 points against LC, while Kaison Faust converted 8-of-11 field goal attempts, scoring 10 points in both wins, adding a combined 15 boards.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Owls have held each of their past three opponents under a 38-percent shooting clip – making just 71-of-193 field goal attempts (.367). In addition, the foes have converted just 14-of-68 3-point tries (.206 percent), with Tech outrebounding the three teams by a combined 38 boards.
 
CURING THE TURNOVER BUG: An efficient offensive attack has keyed the recent win streak – as the Owls have recorded 9-or-less turnovers in five of their last six games, averaging 8.6 turnovers during the 6-game stretch. Friday, OIT recorded just five turnovers in the win over Walla Walla, their fewest number of turnovers since committing four turnovers against Corban during the 2017-18 season.
 
GETTING TO THE LINE: After a slow start to the season at the free throw line, the Owls currently rank No. 4 in CCC-only games (.712) at the stripe. OIT has attempted 30-or-more free throws in 3-straight games – the first time the squad has accomplished the mark since the 2002-03 season – with Tech recording more free throw makes and attempts than any other CCC team this season.
 
WILLAMETTE VALLEY BOUND: Over the last decade, the annual trip to the Willamette Valley has been tough for OIT – as Bushnell and Corban have proven to be formidable foes. Tech has swept the trip just once in 10 seasons (2015-16), posting 5-5 marks at each of the venues.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – BUSHNELL: The trip starts at Bushnell, as the Owls look for a season sweep of the Beacons (11-15, 9-11) after making 65-percent of their field goals last month in a 104-61 victory. BU returns home after losing 3-of-4 on a recent road swing, with the Beacons 7-0 this season when scoring 95-or-more points, but 4-15 when failing to reach the 95-point mark. Post Spencer Hoffman (16.5 ppg, 9.2 rpg) is key to the squad's success, with All-CCC swingman Stevie Schlabach (15.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and guard Trevon Richmond (10.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg) both averaging in double-figures. Tech takes a 7-game win streak over BU into the 69th all-time meeting, dating back to 1977.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – CORBAN: The regular-season ends at Corban – a rivalry that dates back to 1969. The Warriors (17-9, 13-7) are 6-6 over their last 12 games – but feature a stingy defense that ranks No. 2 in the CCC in defensive scoring (67.2) and force 17 turnovers per game. Forwards Darius Henderson (13.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Mario Escheik (11.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg) pace the Corban attack, while point-guard Taylor Anderson (9.9 ppg, 3.8 apg) is among the top playmakers in the league. It is the 106th meeting between the schools, with Tech holding a 72-33 series edge, including a 26-19 mark in Salem.
 
AROUND THE CASCADE CONFERENCE: Only first-place College of Idaho has a definitive CCC Tournament seeding, as the Yotes take 25-game win streak into the weekend – while Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon, Warner Pacific and Corban all battle for the three remaining quarterfinal home court games. In addition, LC State and Bushnell can secure the final two playoff spots with a win – as Multnomah has dropped 8-of-9 and sits two games out of the final spot. Along with SOU and OIT heading to Bushnell and Corban, C of I and EOU travel to Northwest and Evergreen, with LC and Walla Walla hosting Multnomah and WPU.
 
RECORD BOOK: Eight members of the Hustlin' Owls are among the Top-75 in the OIT Men's Basketball Career Record Book. Kaison Faust ranks No. 22 in rebounds (556), No. 29 in free throw attempts (283), No. 32 in blocked shots (33), No. 34 in free throws made (199), No. 43 in games played (111) and in field goals made (355), No. 46 in points scored (914), No. 53 in steals (66), No. 62 in field goal attempts (629) and just outside the Top-75 in assists (123), with Keegan Shivers No. 21 in 3-pointers made (141), No. 26 in 3-point attempts (344), No. 61 in steals (55), No. 69 in assists (138), No. 73 in rebounds (338) and field goal attempts (584), No. 74 in points scored (753) and just outside the Top-75 in field goals made (254). Joey Potts is No. 5 in blocked shots (88); Jamison Guerra is No. 34 in assists (239), No. 63 in 3-point attempts (160), No. 67 in both 3-pointers made (47) and steals (50), ranking No. 75 in free throws made (126) and just outside the Top-75 in free throw attempts (162); Erik Fraser is No. 66 in both 3-pointers made (49) and attempted (140); Kam Osborn is No. 71 in both 3-pointers made (42) and 3-point attempts (121); Kody Bauman is No. 59 in blocked shots (17), with Jay Elmore No. 69 in 3-pointers made (43) and just outside the Top-75 in 3-point attempts (107).

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 59 seasons Tech has played on what is now known as Danny Miles Court, the Owls hold a 774-176 overall record in the building – including an 87-16 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). Tech finished the season averaging 1,176 fans per game – No. 3 in the NAIA in attendance (behind College of Idaho and Indiana Wesleyan, who each average 1,251 fans) – and No. 4 among all Oregon 4-year schools (trailing only Oregon, Oregon State and Portland), ahead of Portland State (1,001) and all Division II, Division III and NAIA institutions.
 
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 980 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.
 
NEXT WEEK: Tech will open the CCC Tournament on Tuesday night, traveling for a match-up at 7:30 p.m. With a win, the Owls would advance to the semifinals, set for next Friday at 7:30 p.m.