COMING UP: vs. Bushnell, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; vs. Corban, Saturday, 5 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 on the call - broadcasts will begin 30 minutes prior to tip-off with the Justin Parnell Coaches Show – simulcast on the Owls Sports Network. Live Stats are available online through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal, with in-game updates provided on "X" by following @OITMBB. 
 
14TH ANNUAL PINK OUT ON FRIDAY: The 14th-Annual Oregon Tech Basketball Pink Out, presented by Sky Lakes Breast Health Services, is set for this Friday night – with the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative Pink Out t-shirt. The first Pink Out game was played in 2009 to honor Oregon Tech president, Martha Anne Dow, who died in 2007 after a battle with breast cancer. The Pink Out game raises money for cancer research and the Martha Anne Dow Endowed Scholarship.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2023-24 season are posted online via the OIT Men's Basketball Flickr Page, while highlight clips and interviews are posted online via the new OIT Men's Basketball YouTube Channel.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – BUSHNELL: For the second time this season, Bushnell heads to the Basin – having competed in the Cascade-Crossroads Challenge, hosted by OIT. The Beacons (9-6, 6-3) have played a tough schedule – with all six losses against quality opponents (including Top-25 teams in Grace, Bethel, College of Idaho and Arizona Christian) – with BU relying on a prolific offense (averaging a league-best 87 points per game) for their success. Veteran wing Stevie Schlabach (15.7 ppg, 2.9 ppg) is the catalyst of the squad, with returners Kaden Sand (14.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Spencer Hoffman (11.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and Tony Frohlich-Fair (11.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg) all tough match-ups.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BEACONS: The Hustlin' Owls hold a 53-16 all-time series lead on Bushnell, including a 35-3 mark at Danny Miles Court. The two teams split last season's games, OIT winning a dominating 104-61 decision in Klamath Falls, with the Beacons hanging on to top Tech, 76-74, in Eugene.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – CORBAN: The first half of the conference schedule ends Saturday against a Corban team coming off a trip to the NAIA National Tournament. The Warriors (9-5, 6-3) are playing their first road games in a month and are coming off home losses last weekend to C of I and Eastern. Taylor Kelly's club averages 79 points per game, converts 46-percent of their field goals and has a stellar rebound margin (+5.5), while limiting teams to 42-percent shooting. Two transfers are the key to the Warriors success – guard Aundree Polk (17.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and forward Jay Wilson (13.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), with returners Taylor Anderson (11.8 ppg, 3.0 apg) and Collin Warmouth (9.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg) each playing key minutes.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WARRIORS: The OIT-Corban rivalry dates back to 1969, with the Warriors one of five opponents the Owls have played more than 100 times (Southern Oregon, Western Oregon, Eastern Oregon, College of Idaho, Corban). Tech holds a 72-34 series edge, including a 45-14 record in the Basin, but Corban has had the upper hand of late, winning 11 of the previous 19 meetings, including three consecutive wins.
 
ACADEMIC HONORS: Seven members of the Hustlin' Owls were honored this week as members of the 2023-24 Cascade Conference All-Academic Team. To earn the honor, a student-athlete must be a sophomore, junior or senior and maintain a 3.20 or higher cumulative GPA at OIT. Earning the honor were Jay Elmore, Erik Fraser, Jamison Guerra, Blake Jensen, Garrett Osborne, Keegan Shivers and Grant Tull.
 
TOP-25 POLL: Despite a 6-1 record over the previous month between NAIA Top-25 polling periods, the Hustlin' Owls did not move the needle in the rating – remaining at No. 24 in Wednesday's balloting. OIT has climbed to No. 18 in the Massey Computer Rating and is No. 23 in the NAIA Hoops Report Top-25. A total of seven teams ranked ahead of the Owls in the poll dropped 2-or-more games (including four teams that lost three games). Three opponents are ranked above Tech – No. 1 Grace, No. 3 College of Idaho and No. 23 Bethel.
 
STREAKS SNAPPED: The Hustlin' Owls ran a season-best win streak to six games and a road win streak to seven with a Friday afternoon win at Walla Walla, but had both streaks ended Saturday in a loss at Lewis-Clark State. It was the longest win streak for OIT since an 11-game run in 2021-22 and the longest road win streak since winning 8-in-a-row during the 2018-19 season.
 
OVER THE CENTURY MARK: For the first time this season, OIT surpassed the 100-point mark in their win at Walla Walla. It marked the 191st time the Owls have scored 100-or-more points, extending a win streak to 21-games when reaching the century mark – and the 11th-straight year Tech has reached 100 points in a game. The Owls first scored 100 points in a game on Feb. 9, 1957 against Eastern Oregon (110-62) – starting a streak of 66 wins when reaching the century mark, a string of games stretching 33 years. To date, OIT has a 181-10 all-time record when reaching 100 points in a game.
 
TOUGH NIGHT IN LEWISTON: Despite converting 48-percent of their field goals and making a season best 18-of-21 free throw attempts, Tech dropped an 87-75 decision at Lewis-Clark State. LC thrived on mid-range jumpers and 3-point attempts – with the 52-percent field goal percentage on the night the highest by an OIT opponent this season, with the Warriors making 9-of-22 3-point chances in the wire-to-wire win.
 
NEAR PERFECT WEEKEND FOR BAUMAN: It was a big road swing for Kody Bauman, who took advantage of extended minutes to record two huge games for the Hustlin' Owls. The senior recorded 13 points and seven rebounds at Walla Walla, adding a season-high 17 points and four rebounds in the loss at LC State. Bauman converted 11-of-13 field goal attempts on the weekend, including a perfect 6-of-6 shooting on Saturday night, while making 8-of-9 free throws. For the season, the senior improved his field goal percentage to nearly 60-percent (.595).
 
COOPER COMING INTO HIS OWN: Tech got a big boost off the bench from forward Jackson Cooper, as the freshman posted back-to-back double-digit scoring games. Cooper had 11 points and six rebounds in Friday's win at Walla Walla, upping the number to 13 points and five rebounds at LC State.
 
GUERRA PICKS UP SCORING PUNCH: Point-guard Jamison Guerra led the Owls in scoring in Saturday's loss at LC State, scoring 23 points in the contest. It was the junior's third game of the season with 20-or-more points and seventh of his career. Guerra currently leads the CCC and the NAIA in assists per game (7.6) – but had a string of 14-straight games with 5-or-more assists snapped at Walla Walla.
 
SHIVERS NEAR 1,000: Guard Keegan Shivers is on the verge of becoming the 37th member of OIT's 1,000-point club, needing nine points this weekend to reach the milestone. The junior had a big afternoon at Walla Walla, posting his third double-double in the last month, scoring 18 points with 10 rebounds.

AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Weekend sweeps from LC State and College of Idaho gave the two teams a game and a half lead in the CCC standings – ahead of Southern Oregon and OIT. In addition, Evergreen won consecutive conference games at home for the first time in nearly a decade – topping Multnomah and Warner Pacific. This week, SOU and OIT host Corban and Bushnell, Northwest and Evergreen are off to C of I and Eastern, with LC and Walla Walla set to meet WPU and Multnomah in Portland.
 
CONFERENCE LEADERS: As a team, the Owls lead the CCC in field goal percentage (.505) and assists per game (17.4), ranking No. 2 in scoring average (85.1), scoring margin (+10.9) and assist-to-turnover margin (1.5). Individually, Jamison Guerra leads the league (and NAIA) in assists per game (7.6), ranking No. 2 in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.7) and No. 3 in steals per game (1.5); Keegan Shivers leads the CCC in 3-pointers made per game (2.7) and defensive rebounds per game (7.9), No. 3 in rebounds per game (8.5) and No. 7 in assists per game (3.0); Blake Jensen leads the CCC in field goal percentage (.667), is No. 2 in offensive rebounds per game (3.0) and No. 8 in rebounds per game (6.4); with Kody Bauman No. 4 in field goal percentage (.595), Jay Elmore No. 7 in 3-point percentage (.426) and Erik Fraser No. 8 in field goal percentage (.535).
 
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS: Two Cascade Conference teams sit atop the NAIA attendance rankings, as College of Idaho (1,273) claimed the top spot, just ahead of the Hustlin' Owls (1,268) – both well ahead of Concordia-Nebraska (870) and Xavier (754). OIT's attendance average would rank No. 1 in the NCAA Division III, No. 8 in the Division II and No. 265 out of 361 Division I teams – with C of I No. 9 and OIT No. 10 among the 35 4-year playing basketball schools in the Northwest.
 
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 779-178 overall record in the building – including an 92-18 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 5-2 mark at home in 2023-24.
 
1,000-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A 3-POINTER: The 3-point shot has been key to the Hustlin' Owls success over the years, with Tech converting at least one 3-pointer in 998 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 (1,208), just ahead of CCC rival Corban (1,195), Duke (1,165) and College of Idaho (1,138).
 
CAREER RECORD BOOK: Seven members of the Hustlin' Owls are among the Top-75 in the OIT Men's Basketball Career Record Book. Keegan Shivers leads the group, ranking No. 10 in 3-pointers made (188), No. 12 in 3-point attempts (464), No. 30 in rebounds (492), No. 37 in field goal attempts (789) and points scored (991), No. 47 in assists (191), No. 50 in field goals made (339), No. 53 in steals (69), No. 75 in free throws made (75) and just outside the Top-75 in free throw attempts (160). Jamison Guerra is No. 14 in assists (367), No. 41 in free throws made (181), No. 43 in steals (76), No. 50 in 3-point attempts (211), No. 52 in free throw attempts (231), No. 64 in 3-pointers made (58), No. 68 in points scored (787), No. 72 in field goals made (274) and No. 75 in field goal attempts (575); Jay Elmore is No. 55 in 3-pointers made (71) and No. 61 in 3-point attempts (178); Erik Fraser is No. 57 in 3-pointers made (68) and No. 59 in 3-point attempts (191); Kam Osborn is No. 62 in 3-pointers made (59) and No. 63 in 3-point attempts (172); Kody Bauman is No. 37 in blocked shots (28), with Blake Jensen No. 43 in blocked shots (25).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Hustlin' Owls hit the road for back-to-back weekends – traveling next week to College of Idaho (Jan. 26) and Eastern Oregon (Jan. 27), followed by a trip to Portland to face Multnomah (Feb. 2) and Warner Pacific (Feb. 3) – before finally returning home Feb. 6 to meet rival Southern Oregon.