COMING UP: at Multnomah, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; at Warner Pacific, 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. Both games will have Live Video - Friday via MU's You Tube Channel and Saturday via the Owls Sports Network (produced by WPU), while Live Stats will be 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 are posted online via the OIT Men's Basketball Flickr Page, while highlight clips are posted online via the new OIT Men's Basketball YouTube Channel.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – MULTNOMAH: The Owls head out of the Basin for the second-straight weekend, heading to Multnomah for a Friday night match-up. The Lions (8-12, 3-11 CCC) are a mystery team – earning early season wins over playoff caliber opponents in Jessup, OUAZ and Arizona Christian – but have dropped 9-of-11, with the two wins by a combined four points. Despite the recent struggles, Multnomah is a dangerous team, featuring the low-post tandem of Tyrese Taylor (14.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and Javier Turner (6.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg), along with guards Miles Macadory (13.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and Neyland Block (10.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.5 apg).
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE LIONS: Tech looks to remain perfect in Portland against Multnomah, as the Owls have won all seven previous match-ups on the Lions home floor. The OIT victory over Multnomah on Jan. 6 improved the all-time series lead for the Hustlin' Owls to 26-1 – including a 78-72 road win to close out 2022.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – WARNER PACIFIC: The long road swing ends Saturday at Warner Pacific, where the Knights (2-18, 0-14) are mired in a school-record 18-game losing streak. WPU have been close during the skid – losing six of the games by 1-score margins, including two overtime setbacks – but were dominated in the first meeting with OIT, an 89-41 Hustlin' Owls win. The Knights love to shoot the 3-pointer, making nearly 10 per game – with the attack paced by guards Matt Solomon (19.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Sean Johnson (9.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg), along with forwards Maxwell Moses (11.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Caleb Tyree-Morgan (9.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg).
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE KNIGHTS: Saturday's date in Portland is the 96th meeting between the schools – dating back to 1966 – with the Owls holding a 69-26 all-time series edge. OIT holds a 23-16 series lead in the Knights home gym – including wins in three of their last four trips to Perry Gym.
 
SWEEPS IN THE ROSE CITY: The Owls have swept the Multnomah-Warner Pacific road trip in four of the past six years – winning both ends of the weekend doubleheader in 2016-17, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2021-22. Tech has never been swept in Portland during the current travel partner arrangement (previously, Warner Pacific was a travel partner of Cascade College from 2001-09 and Concordia University from 2010-15).
 
NEW TOP-25 POLL ON WEDNESDAY: A new NAIA Top-25 poll will be released Wednesday morning, as the Owls were ranked No. 24 in Jan. 17 rating. OIT is ranked in three other polls – No. 13 in the Victory Sports Network weekly poll, No. 14 in the Massey computer rating and No. 25 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.
 
SPLIT ON THE TOUGHEST TRIP: For the fourth time in the last decade, OIT split the difficult C of I-EOU road swing – dropping a tough at the No. 3-ranked Coyotes, before picking up a hard-fought win against the Mountaineers. The Owls split the trip in 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2024, were swept on the trip in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2023, while sweeping the tough trip just once, in 2018.
 
BIG EFFORT ON THE BOARDS: The Owls won the rebound battle in both weekend games – the 11th and 12th time in 19 games that OIT has logged a positive rebound margin. Tech had 9-more rebounds than C of I – the top-ranked rebounding team in the league – while finishing with a plus-9 margin at Eastern. For the year, the Owls average nearly five more rebounds per game than the opposition.
 
CLAMPING DOWN IN LA GRANDE: After allowing the previous four opponents to each make 48-percent or more of their field goals and average 88 points a game, Tech was looking to rekindle their defensive prowess. The Owls did it in a big way at EOU, holding the Mounties to a season-low 33-percent shooting on the night, including just 6-of-29 from 3-point range. It was the second-lowest field goal percentage of the season by an OIT opponent, as Tech limited Warner Pacific to a 28-percent shooting clip on Jan. 5.
 
SHIVERS COMES UP CLUTCH: Needing a victory in a big way, Keegan Shivers delivered for the Hustlin' Owls on Saturday, scoring a season-high 26 points in the road win in La Grande – his 11th career game with 20-or-more points. The guard made 6-of-10 3-point attempts – his seventh career game with 6-or-more 3-pointers made. Shivers had 11 rebounds in both games – with Saturday's effort netting him his team-leading fifth double-double of 2023-24 and eighth game with 10-or-more rebounds. Shivers became the seventh OIT player in program history to make 200 career 3-pointers with a late triple on Saturday, while becoming the seventh player in program history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists in a career – the first in 12 years (Kyle Gomez).
 
OSBORN CLOSES OUT BIG JANUARY: The month of January belonged to guard Kam Osborn, as the fifth-year junior finished his run with 12 points at C of I and 11 points in the win at Eastern – making 10-of-18 field goals and 3-of-5 attempts from 3-point range. For the month, Osborn averaged 16 points per game, making 56-percent of his field goal attempts (44-of-79) and 37-percent of his 3-point tries (14-of-30).
 
ON THE BLOCK: The Owls have received quality production under the basket – as Blake Jensen, Kody Bauman and Jackson Cooper were key to the success on the road swing. Over the weekend, Jensen extended his streak of games with 7-or-more rebounds to four – recording 11 points and seven boards at C of I, adding eight rebounds at EOU. Bauman is averaging 11 points per game over his last six contests, including a key 14-point effort at Eastern. Cooper was consistent in both games, scoring six points with six rebounds both at C of I and EOU and is averaging nine points per game over the last five counters.
 
THE OTHER OSBORNE: Tech has received a boost off the bench the past two weeks from redshirt freshman Garrett Osborne – recording back-to-back career-high scoring games vs. Corban and C of I. The guard played 33 minutes combined in the first 16 games of the season, while over the last three outings, Osborne has played 26 minutes – scoring in all three contests, including six vs. Corban and adding seven at C of I – making 6-of-8 field goals.
 
AROUND THE CASCADE CONFERENCE: College of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State have pulled two games clear of OIT in the league standings – with the two front-runners meeting Friday night in Lewiston. LC and Walla Walla will have tough match-ups with C of I and Eastern, Corban and Bushnell head to Northwest and Evergreen, with Tech and Southern traveling to Portland to face Multnomah and Warner Pacific. After Saturday, just three weekends remain in the league schedule.
 
THE POSTSEASON: A win this weekend and at least one loss by Walla Walla will secure the Hustlin' Owls their 30th-straight postseason appearance, dating back to the 1992-93 season (no postseason in 2020-21 due to COVID).
 
CONFERENCE LEADERS: As a team, the Hustlin' Owls lead the Cascade Conference in field goal percentage (.503), ranking No. 2 in scoring average (85.5) and assists per game (16.7), while sitting at No. 3 in scoring margin (+9.2) and rebound margin (+4.8). Individually, Keegan Shivers leads the CCC in 3-pointers made per game (2.8) and defensive rebounds per game (8.1), ranking No. 4 in rebounds per game (8.7); Blake Jensen leads the CCC in offensive rebounds per game (3.3), ranking No. 3 in field goal percentage (.613) and No. 8 in rebounds per game (6.7); Jamison Guerra leads the CCC in assists per game (7.2), is No. 2 in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4) and No. 5 in steals per game (1.3); with Jay Elmore No. 5 in 3-point percentage (.439), Kody Bauman No. 5 in field goal percentage (.580) and Kam Osborn No. 9 in free throw percentage (.809).
 
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS: Two Cascade Conference teams sit atop the NAIA attendance rankings, as College of Idaho (1,505) claimed the top spot, just ahead of the Hustlin' Owls (1,335) – both well ahead of Carroll (919) and Concordia-Nebraska (862) OIT's attendance average would rank No. 3 in the NCAA Division III, No. 8 in the Division II and No. 262 out of 361 Division I teams – with C of I and OIT among the Top-10 of all 35 4-year playing basketball schools in the Northwest in attendance (Top-10: Boise State, Oregon, Washington, Gonzaga, Oregon State, Washington State, C of I, Idaho, OIT, Seattle U).
 
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.
 
OVER 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 extending their string of games with a made 3-pointer to 1,002. 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 current streak, the Owls made one 3-pointer in a game on five occasions. UNLV holds the current 3-point streak record (1,211), just ahead of CCC rival Corban (1,200), Duke (1,169) and College of Idaho (1,142).
 
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. 7in 3-pointers made (200), No. 10 in 3-point attempts (472), No. 26 in rebounds (530), No. 30 in field goal attempts (828), No. 33 in points scored (1,050), No. 42 in field goals made (358), No. 44 in assists (201), No. 53 in steals (69), No. 69 in free throws made (134) and just outside the Top-75 in free throw attempts (170). Jamison Guerra is No. 10 in assists (389), No. 34 in free throws made (195), No. 41 in steals (78), No. 42 in free throw attempts (248), No. 47 in 3-point attempts (224), No. 59 in points scored (837), No. 61 in 3-pointers made (62), No. 66  in field goals made (290) and No. 67 in field goal attempts (610); Jay Elmore is No. 52 in 3-pointers made (77) and No. 61 in 3-point attempts (190); Erik Fraser is No. 56 in 3-point attempts (199) and No. 58 in 3-pointers made (68); Kam Osborn is No. 56 in 3-pointers made (69) and No. 58 in 3-point attempts (192); Kody Bauman is No. 34 in blocked shots (30), with Blake Jensen No. 43 in blocked shots (25).
 
NEXT WEEK: Tech returns to the Basin for five of their final seven regular-season games, including three games next week – Tuesday vs. Southern Oregon, Friday vs. Evergreen State (Black Out for Hunger) and Saturday vs. Northwest.