COMING UP: at Comfort Suites Classic (Helena, Mont.) – Friday vs. Providence, 1 p.m. (MDT)/12 p.m. (PDT); Saturday vs. Carroll, 7:30 p.m. (MDT)/6:30 p.m. (PDT)
COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTES
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Each of the 28 regular-season games and all potential postseason contests will be carried live on
92.5 KLAD-FM with broadcasts beginning 30 minutes prior to tip-off with the
Justin Parnell Coaches Show. This weekend, Josh Eldredge will be Helena, filling in for the Voice of the Hustlin' Owls, Mike Safford. Both games in Montana will have a live stream through
Carroll's YouTube Channel, with Live Stats through
OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2024-25 season (including Media Day) are posted online via the
OIT Men's Basketball Flickr Page, while highlight clips will be posted online via the
OIT Men's Basketball YouTube Channel.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – PROVIDENCE: OIT opens the season against a new-look University of Providence squad that lost all five starters and added 15 new players to a team that finished 15-15 in 2023-24. The Argonauts averaged 80 points a game a year ago and topped CCC foes Corban, Multnomah and Lewis-Clark State, but lost to Warner Pacific. Head coach J.C. Isakson hit the transfer portal – as guards Antoine Boyd (22.0 ppg) from Shoreline CC and Brendan Redhead (23.5 ppg) from Dakota College at Bottineau will make an immediate impact, along with forwards Nik Atanasous (12.9 ppg) from Division II Western New Mexico and Mike Wright (5.2 ppg) from NAIA champ Langston. UP holds a 4-2 edge in the all-time series, with the Owls searching for their first win in the series since 1976.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – CARROLL: Tech closes the trip against the tournament host, meeting Carroll College for the first time in 38 years. The Fighting Saints are coming off a 19-12 season, advancing to the Frontier Conference Tournament title game, qualifying for their eighth NAIA Tournament in nine years, before losing to Cornerstone in the first-round. First-year head coach Dan Pearson saw his club picked last in the FC preseason poll, as the Saints must replace starters Andrew Cook and Kendall Moore, who combined to average 35 points a night. Guard James Lang (12.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg) returns along with forward Derek Kramer (4.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg), but Carroll will turn to transfers Cam Niles (15.2 ppg, 9.9 rpg) from UC Davis and Yuba CC and Isaac Round (23.7 ppg) from England. It is the third all-time meeting between the teams and second in Helena.
HISTORY IN MONTANA: The Owls have an opportunity to achieve something no other OIT team has accomplished – win a game in Montana. Tech makes their fourth trip in program history to the Treasure State – playing games in 1980, 1984 and 2018 – going a combined 0-7
AGAINST THE FRONTIER: OIT has had the upper hand on the former NAIA Division I outpost in Montana, holding a 16-9 mark against the six current Frontier Conference members (Carroll, Montana Tech, Montana Western, MSU Northern, Providence, Rocky Mountain). Following the season, the FC will expand to 11 teams, as the Dakota-based North Star Athletic Association will merge with the league.
SEASON OPENERS: For just the second time in the last decade, the Owls will open a season outside the Basin. Over the past 74 years, Tech has a 50-24 record in season openers – including wins the past two years over Jessup and Simpson. The last road opener was in Rocklin, Calif., a 2021-22 loss to Menlo College.
TECH RANKED #16, PICKED SECOND IN CCC: The Hustlin' Owls earn a spot in the NAIA Top-25 poll to start a year for the sixth time in seven seasons, with No. 16-ranked OIT in the Top-25 for the sixth-straight polling period. Tech received 255 voter points from the 20 conference raters – one of three Cascade Conference teams in the rating. Defending CCC regular-season champ, College of Idaho, is ranked No. 2, with Lewis-Clark State ranked No. 25. In the CCC preseason poll, C of I earned 9-of-12 first-place votes to take the top spot, followed by OIT and LC State – the eighth-straight year the Owls were among the Top-3 in the CCC balloting.
25-WIN SEASON IN 2023-24: The 27-6 record last year marked the 38th time in 76 years of men's basketball that OIT has recorded 20-or-more wins in a season and the sixth time in
Justin Parnell's first eight years as head coach. The Owls recorded their 24th season with at least 25-wins en route to the CCC Tournament title, advancing to the second-round of the NAIA Tournament.
ROAD WARRIORS: OIT set a new school record for road wins in a season, finishing the year 14-3 away from home – including wins in each of the 11 Cascade Conference gyms. Tech surpassed the 1986-87 Tech team which recorded a 12-4 mark, while no other team in program history has won more than 10 road games in a season.
EXPERIENCE THE KEY: An extremely deep pool of players at the guard and wing spots is key for the Hustlin' Owls – including five players with at least five years of collegiate experience. All-America point-guard
Jamison Guerra anchors the offense, coming off a season where he led the NAIA in assists (227) and assists per game (6.9), finishing the year averaging 12 points a night. Leading scorer, two-guard
Kam Osborn, is back after averaging 15 points a game, with sixth-man
Jay Elmore ranking third in the CCC in 3-point percentage (.455). At the wing, 4-time All-CCC pick
Keegan Shivers brings 1,200 points and 600 rebounds of experience to the table;
Erik Fraser averaged in double-figures last year, while
Dakota Reber (12 ppg, 6 rpg at Warner Pacific in 2022-23) joins the group after sitting out last season due to the CCC transfer rule.
POST SUCCESS: The Owls return three of their four posts from last season – starter
Blake Jensen and reserves
Jackson Cooper and
Logan Thebiay. Jensen led the CCC in field goal percentage (.635) a season ago, averaging 11 points and six rebounds per game, with Cooper having a huge second half of the year, averaging nine points and five rebounds over the final six weeks of the year.
QUOTES FROM THE COACH: "The goal is head into Game 1 in Montana with our identity completely intact - on the defensive end, on the offensive end and in transition – we've tried to get there quicker than we ever have," said head coach
Justin Parnell. "Montana is a hard place to play – Providence and Carroll are both tough, well coached teams. Helena will be one of the best road environments we'll play in all year. But we have a team that if we execute and do the things we need to do, we are capable of starting the year 2-0. From there – our home tournament will be tough, we go on the road to Eastern and C of I, host Southern and then back on the road to Corban and Bushnell. We are trying to create as much adversity in practice so when we get into those games, we are built to deal with it. We told the seniors at the beginning of the season – 'what kind of legacy are you going to leave' – and they've already left a great one, but we are challenging them to leave an elite legacy. We have extremely high expectations this year, but we also know that we have to perform. We were fortunate to win a lot of games in the last possession that could have gone the other way and it would have been a different season. Going 27-6 isn't easy and the players know that all the hard work they have put in this fall is going to pay off and we have to go out and do the job."
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Two teams opened up the season last week, as Southern Oregon topped Pacific Union and Multnomah routed Portland Bible. Five teams make their debut this week – as Bushnell joins OIT in Helena to play Carroll and Providence; Evergreen State and Walla Walla travel to Dillon, Mont., for games vs. Montana Tech and Montana Western, with Haskell Indian Nations facing LC State. Two teams will play Division I exhibitions – Warner Pacific at Gonzaga and Northwest at Idaho.
RECORD BOOK: Six players open the 2024-25 season in the Top-75 of the Hustlin' Owls career record book, led by
Keegan Shivers, who ranks No. 4 in 3-pointers made (227), No. 5 in 3-point attempts (561), No. 15 in rebounds (621), No. 19 in field goal attempts (967), No. 21 in points scored (1,224), No. 23 in games started (73), No. 27 in field goals made (418), No. 34 in assists (240), No. 44 in steals (76), No. 51 in games played (101), No. 56 in free throws made (161), No. 62 in free throw attempts (202) and No. 64 in blocked shots (16).
Jamison Guerra is No. 8 in assists (480), No. 21 in free throws made (226), No. 26 in free throw attempts (290), No. 28 in steals (99), No. 29 in games started (67), No. 36 in 3-point attempts (359), No. 38 in both points scored (1,001) and field goal attempts (789), No. 45 in field goals made (351), No. 51 in games played (101) and No. 57 in 3-pointers made (73);
Kam Osborn is No. 38 in 3-pointers made (95) and attempted (256), No. 48 in games started (53), No. 61 in assists (163), No. 63 in field goal attempts (637) and free throws made (148), No. 64 in free throw attempts (200), No. 66 in points scored (813) and No. 70 in field goals made (285);
Erik Fraser is No. 37 in 3-point attempts (257), No. 41 in 3-pointers made (91), No. 58 in steals (61) and games started (45), No. 58 in steals (61), No. 61 in games played (85) and No. 71 in blocked shots (15);
Blake Jensen is No. 35 in blocked shots (30), No. 59 in free throw attempts (214), No. 66 in free throws made (146) and No. 69 in both rebounds (357) and games played (79); with
Jay Elmore is No. 31 in 3-pointers made (103) and No. 43 in 3-point attempts (245).
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 786-179 overall record in the building – including an 99-19 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). The Owls ended last season 12-3 at home, their 53rd-straight winning season on their home floor.
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 1,016. 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 (1,228), just ahead of CCC rival Corban (1,209), Duke (1,190) and College of Idaho (1,163).
NEXT WEEK: The Hustlin' Owls return to the Basin next Saturday (Nov. 9), opening the home schedule with a 7:30 p.m. match-up vs. Cal Maritime.
