COMING UP: at No. 3 College of Idaho, Friday, 7:30 p.m. (MST); at Eastern Oregon, 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 Owls Sports Network. Both games will have a pay-per-view video stream - Friday via C of I's Team1Sports Platform and Saturday via the Owls Sports Network (produced by EOU). Live Stats for Friday's game will be available through C of I's HTML Stat Portal, with Saturday's stats available through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal. In-game updates for both games will be provided on "X" by following @OITMBB.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2023-24 season, including last Friday's Pink Out are posted online via the OIT Men's Basketball Flickr Page, while highlight clips, including both weekend wins, are posted online via the new OIT Men's Basketball YouTube Channel.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – COLLEGE OF IDAHO: Tech gets a second crack at the defending NAIA champions, as Friday night, College of Idaho puts an 11-game win streak on the line. The No. 3-ranked Coyotes (16-2, 11-1 CCC) have scored 100-or-more points in 3-straight games – averaging 16 made 3-pointers in the wins – with the club leading the CCC in rebound margin (+11.2). Point-guard Samaje Morgan (13.9 ppg, 4.0 apg) is the catalyst for the veteran-laden team, with a trio of 1,000-point scorers – Johnny Radford (13.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg), Drew Wyman (10.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Jake O'Neil (10.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg) all part of a deep lineup.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE COYOTES: The two dominant NAIA forces in the Northwest meet for the 104th time, two teams that have combined for five national titles and three runner-up finishes. Tech has dropped 7-of-8 overall to C of I, including December's 78-75 decision in the Basin, with the last OIT win in Caldwell coming in 2018. The Yotes hold a 59-44 series edge, including a 36-15 record in the Treasure Valley, dating back to 1962.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – EASTERN OREGON: Saturday, it's on to the Grande Ronde Valley and a date with Eastern Oregon, as the Mountaineers (7-11, 6-6) head into the weekend on a 3-game win streak. EOU has been close all season, but are 3-8 in games decided by 7-points-or-less. The Mounties love the 3-ball, making nearly nine triples a game, averaging 76 points a night. Wing Garrett Hawkes (15.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg) is EOU's leading scorer, with guards Malachi Afework (10.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg), Jonny Hillman (9.7 ppg, 2.8 apg) and A.J. Huddleston (8.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg) key to the squad's success.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE MOUNTAINEERS: Outside of Southern Oregon, the Hustlin' Owls have met the Mountaineers on the court more than any other opponent, with Saturday's match-up the 191st all-time meeting – dating back to 1951. OIT holds a 115-75 series edge, but EOU has a 54-37 in Quinn Coliseum, including the last two meetings in La Grande. Tech snapped a 3-game skid against Eastern in December with an 84-74 win.
 
TOUGH TRIP: C of I and EOU are two of Tech's oldest rivals – joining Southern Oregon, Western Oregon and Corban as the only schools to play the Owls over 100 times. The trip to Caldwell and La Grande, since it was paired in 2000, has been as difficult as the trip for others to Klamath and Ashland – with OIT sweeping the weekend just three times (2003, 2005, 2018) – while the host schools have swept the Owls on seven occasions.
 
TOP-25 POLL: The Owls were ranked No. 24 in the first NAIA Top-25 poll of 2024, the second-straight polling period at No. 24. OIT is ranked in two other polls – No. 13 in the Victory Sports Network weekly poll and No. 23 in the NAIA Hoops Report bi-weekly poll. More importantly, Tech opens the season No. 2 in the NAIA West ARC rating, which determines seeding and at-large bids for the NAIA Championships – trailing only C of I. Of note, OUAZ (No. 7), LC State (No. 11) and Jessup (No. 12) are rated in the West, while Grace (No. 1) and Bethel (No. 6) are rated in the Great Lakes ARC.
 
LAST TOP-5 WINS: Tech's last win against Top-5 opponents came in back-to-back games at the 2019 NAIA Division II National Tournament. The Owls stunned No. 1-ranked Indiana Wesleyan (107-93) in the quarterfinals and two days later, rolled past No. 5-ranked College of Idaho (93-81) in the national semifinals.
 
A GAME BACK AT THE HALF: Halfway through the conference season, one game separates the Top-4 teams in the standings – as C of I and LC State lead the league with 11-1 records, while OIT and Southern head into the weekend at 9-2. The four teams have a sizable lead on the rest of the field (three games clear of fifth-place and 7-5 Corban) for the right to host a CCC quarterfinal game. In league-only games, Tech leads the CCC in scoring average (88.8), field goal percentage (.520) and 3-point percentage (.401).
 
DOMINANT MONTH ON THE FLOOR: For the second time in as many weeks, OIT made over 60-percent of their field goals in a game – hitting the mark in the 112-98 win over Bushnell – including a season-high 14 made 3-pointers. Over the last month, the Owls have been efficient on the offensive end, making 54-percent of their field goals (278-of-516) – averaging 92 points per game.
 
SUPRASSING 110: For the second time this season, OIT surpassed the 100-point mark in their win vs. Bushnell, the 192nd 100-point game for the Hustlin' Owls, and the 67th straight win when scoring 100 (now 182-10 in 100-point games). For the Owls, it marked the 70th time the team has eclipsed 110 points (first since the 2021-22 season), with Tech 67-3 in 110-point games.
 
RALLY OF ALL RALLIES: Saturday's start for the Owls was as tough as it gets – missing 14 consecutive shot attempts, while Corban opened with the first 22 points of the game. Following a timeout, a Kam Osborn baseline bank shot opened the Tech scoring nearly eight minutes into the contest – but opened the floodgates – as the Owls finished the half on a 41-15 run, en route to a 94-84 win. Over the last 32 minutes, OIT made 62-percent of their field goal attempts.
 
RARE THREE DOUBLE-DOUBLE GAME: The Bushnell win saw a rare feat by the Owls – three players recording a double-double in the same game. Keegan Shivers (21 points, 11 rebounds), Blake Jensen (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Jamison Guerra (18 points, 12 assists) all posted their fourth double-doubles of the season. It marks the first time in 19 years OIT had three double-doubles in one game – as Todd Mathews (10 points, 11 assists), Matt Johnson (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Kevin Baker (20 points, 11 rebounds) accomplished the feat on Feb. 8, 2003 in a win at Southern Oregon.
 
OSBORN EARNS CCC AWARD: Tech needed a dominant effort to earn two wins – with Kam Osborn stepping up in a huge way, with his big weekend earning him Cascade Conference Player of the Week honors. The fifth-year junior scored 25 points in the win over Bushnell and added a career-high 27 points, willing the Owls to the victory over Corban. Osborn made 18-of-30 field goals, including seven 3-pointers – upping his season scoring average to 14.5 – while adding a combined five steals.
 
SHIVERS REACHES MILESTONES: With a converted driving lay-up against Bushnell, Keegan Shivers became the 37th player to surpass 1,000 points in an OIT uniform, finishing the night with 21 points. The 11 rebounds from the junior in the game pushed his career rebound over 500 boards – joining a list of 17 players with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds – just the third player in the last nine seasons to hit the benchmark (Seth Erickson, Garret Albright).
 
GUERRA ON A TEAR: Jamison Guerra has scored 18-or-more points in 3-straight games – making 19-of-34 field goal attempts along the way. The point-guard logged his fourth double-double of the year against Bushnell (18 points, 12 assists) and added 19 points in the comeback win vs. Corban. Guerra moved into the Top-10 in OIT history in career assists – needing 17 helpers to reach 400 for his career.
 
KEY BENCH PRODUCTION: The Owls received key minutes off the bench over the weekend, instrumental in the two wins. Jay Elmore was lethal from 3-point range, hitting 5-of-8 triples in the two games – having made 11 of his last 17 3-point attempts. Jackson Cooper scored seven points in both wins and is averaging nearly 10 points per game over his last four outings. Kody Bauman posted seven points and five boards vs. Bushnell and nine points and four rebounds vs. Corban and is averaging 13 points per game over his last four contests, making 17-of-24 field goals. Garrett Osborne played nine strong minutes vs. Corban, scoring a career-high six points.

AROUND THE CASCADE CONFERENCE: The second half of the league schedule opens this weekend – with the Southern Oregon-Oregon Tech at College of Idaho-Eastern Oregon series highlighting the slate. Corban and Bushnell return home to host struggling Warner Pacific and Multnomah, while LC State and Walla Walla travel to Northwest and Evergreen State.
 
CONFERENCE LEADERS: Tech leads the CCC in scoring offense (87.2), field goal percentage (.510) and assists per game (17.2), ranking No. 2 in 3-point percentage (.378). Individually, Blake Jensen leads the league in field goal percentage (.637) and offensive rebounds per game (3.3), ranking No. 7 in rebounds per game; Jamison Guerra leads the league in assists per game, ranking No. 2 in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.0) and No. 4 in steals per game; with Keegan Shivers leading the league in defensive rebounds per game (7.9), ranking No. 2 in 3-pointers made per game (2.6), No. 3 in rebounds per game (8.4) and No. 9 in assists per game (2.9). Kam Osborn is No. 10 in both scoring average (14.5) and free throw percentage (.821); Kody Bauman is No. 4 in field goal percentage (.589); with Jay Elmore No. 6 in 3-point percentage (.452).
 
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS: Two Cascade Conference teams sit atop the NAIA attendance rankings, as College of Idaho (1,434) claimed the top spot, just ahead of the Hustlin' Owls (1,335) – both well ahead of Concordia-Nebraska (885), Carroll (855) and Xavier (754). OIT's attendance average would rank No. 1 in the NCAA Division III, No. 5 in the Division II and No. 262 out of 361 Division I teams – with C of I No. 7 and OIT No. 9 among all 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 781-178 overall record in the building – including an 94-18 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 7-2 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 hitting a milestone by connecting on a 3-pointer for the 1,000th-straight game in Saturday's win over Corban. 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 (1,210), just ahead of CCC rival Corban (1,198), Duke (1,167) and College of Idaho (1,140).
 
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 (192), No. 11 in 3-point attempts (472), No. 27 in rebounds (508), No. 36 in field goal attempts (803), No. 37 in points scored (1,016), No. 45 in field goals made (347), No. 46 in assists (196), No. 53 in steals (69), No. 74 in free throws made (130) and just outside the Top-75 in free throw attempts (165). Jamison Guerra is No. 10 in assists (383), No. 35 in free throws made (193), No. 41 in steals (77), No. 42 in free throw attempts (245), No. 49 in 3-point attempts (217), No. 61 in 3-pointers made (61), No. 63 in points scored (824), No. 69 in field goals made (285) and No. 71 in field goal attempts (595); Jay Elmore is No. 53 in 3-pointers made (76) and No. 62 in 3-point attempts (186); Erik Fraser is No. 57 in 3-pointers made (68) and in 3-point attempts (194); Kam Osborn is No. 59 in 3-pointers made (66) and No. 61 in 3-point attempts (187); Kody Bauman is No. 34 in blocked shots (30), with Blake Jensen No. 43 in blocked shots (25).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Hustlin' Owls continue the road swing next weekend in Portland for dates at Multnomah (Feb. 2) and Warner Pacific (Feb. 3). Tech returns home Feb 6, hosting rival Southern Oregon, starting a string of 5-of-7 home games to end the regular-season.