COMING UP: at Eastern Oregon, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; at College of Idaho, Saturday, 4 p.m. (PST)

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: All 22 Cascade Conference games will be broadcast live on radio in the Klamath Basin on Oregon's County Giant, 92.5 KLAD-FM, beginning with the Justin Parnell Coaches' Show 30-minutes prior to tip-off – simulcast online through MyBasin.com. Both games will have pay-per-view video available – Friday at Eastern Oregon and Saturday at College of Idaho – with Live Stats for both games on the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2024-25 season 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 – EASTERN OREGON: The conference schedule opens in La Grande, as the Owls meet longtime rival Eastern Oregon – a squad they have met 191 times dating back to 1951. The Mountaineers (4-1) have a potent squad that swept two games from Carroll College and had a 4-game win streak snapped Saturday against Montana Western. EOU averages 85 points a night and converts 53-percent of their field goal attempts – while committing just 10 turnovers a night. Transfer guards T.J. Doman (15.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Trent Rogers (13.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg) have complimented a trio of key returners – Garrett Hawkes (19.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Jaden Hansen (9.2 ppg, 3.2 apg) and post Brennan Newsom (6.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg). OIT swept the season series with Eastern last year, with the Owls holding a 116-75 all-time series edge.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – COLLEGE OF IDAHO: The trip closes with a rematch of last season's CCC tournament title game – where the Owls upset College of Idaho on their home floor. The No. 4-ranked Coyotes (5-1) have been a juggernaut at home – posting a 5-0 mark this year (each of the wins by 19-or-more points), taking a 46-game home conference win streak into the weekend – with OIT snapping C of I's 41-game win streak against CCC opponents in last season's playoffs. The Yotes average 84 points a game, while holding teams to a 38-percent shooting percentage – thanks to a veteran group led by All-Americans Drew Wyman (11.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Samaje Morgan (10.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg), along with Johnny Radford (14.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg), Tyler Robinett (10.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Straton Rogers (5.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg). OIT is looking for their first regular-season win at C of I since 2018, with the Idaho bunch holding a 60-45 series edge.
 
TOUGH, TOUGH TRIP: OIT embarks on arguably the toughest trip of the year to start league play – facing two of the five teams the Owls have met over 100-times (C of I, EOU, Southern Oregon, Western Oregon, Corban). Since C of I and EOU became travel partners in 2000 (previously, C of I was pared with former league foe Northwest Nazarene), Tech has swept the long trip just three times – in 2003, 2005 and 2018 – while the host schools have swept the Owls on eight occasions.
 
OPENING OF CONFERENCE PLAY: The 11-week, 22-game Cascade Conference schedule begins in earnest this week, as the 12 conference teams vie for one of the eight bids to the CCC Tournament in February. Teams will face each of the other 11 opponents in home-and-home series, playing Friday-Saturday weekend match-ups – minus travel-partner games (OIT matched-up with Southern Oregon). Last season, College of Idaho claimed the regular-season title with a 21-1 record, with Tech winning the league tournament as the No. 3 seed.
 
TECH SITS AT NO. 25: For the eighth-straight polling period, the Hustlin' Owls are ranked within the NAIA's Top-25, sitting at No. 25 in the balloting released on Nov. 27. OIT received 62 voter points from the 20 conference raters – a 3-point cushion between themselves and the first team in the "others receiving votes" category. Two other CCC teams are in the Top-25 – No. 4 College of Idaho and No. 21 Lewis-Clark State, while preseason opponent, Arizona Christian, climbed into the No. 1 spot in the tabulation. The next poll will be released on Dec. 11.
 
EXHIBITION GAME CANCELED: Tech was to have played the Seattle Mountaineers in an exhibition game on Nov. 23, but the match-up was called off due to facility issues. Rapid snowmelt following a storm created leaks in the Athletic Center skylights – which created an unsafe environment for players and spectators. Officials are hopeful that the issue has been rectified heading into the winter months.
 
OWLS REBOUND AT SIMPSON: The Owls closed out the non-conference schedule with a hard-fought 83-70 victory at Simpson, rallying from a 7-point second half deficit. Tech outscored the Redhawks 49-35 in the final 20 minutes, finishing the night with a season-high 12 steals and a plus-8 rebound advantage. OIT converted 50-percent of their field goals, improving to 4-0 this season when making at least 50-percent of their shot attempts. With the win, the Owls improved to 46-0 all-time against Simpson.
 
BALANCED SCORING AT ANOTHER LEVEL: Scoring by committee has been taken to another level by the Owls, as OIT heads into conference play with seven different players averaging in double-figures (Keegan Shivers, Jamison Guerra, Jackson Cooper, Dakota Reber, Kam Osborn, Blake Jensen, Erik Fraser) – tops among all Cascade Conference teams. Of the seven players, five of the Hustlin' Owls are converting over 50-percent of their field goal attempts – as Tech leads the league with a .537 team field goal percentage and with a 90 points per game scoring average.
 
FRASER KEY IN REDDING: Pacing the Hustlin' Owls in the road win at Simpson was Erik Fraser, who scored 7-straight points during a 15-1 second half run – erasing a Redhawks lead. The senior finished the night with 13 points and tied a season-high with seven rebounds, while adding two steals – surpassing the 700-point scoring mark for his career.
 
GUERRA CONTINUES RUN: Jamison Guerra remains the lone OIT player to score in double-figures in all six games this season, posting 13 points and six assists in last Tuesday's win. The senior, who ranks among the national leaders in both assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio, has recorded at least 5-or-more assists in 9-straight games dating back to last season.
 
OSBORN RESPONDS: Sixth-year senior Kam Osborn rebounded from a tough Lithia Classic in a big way in California, leading the Owls with 15 points in the road win. The guard converted 6-of-8 field goals in the victory, moving him 126 points away from the 1,000-point milestone for his career.
 
MORE FROM CALIFORNIA: Multiple players continued strong seasons during last week's match-up at Simpson, including Keegan Shivers, who surpassed the 1,300-point mark for his career with a 14-point effort. The senior, who is averaging 17.6 points per game over the last three contests, sits 29 3-pointers away from OIT's all-time record. Blake Jensen remains the most efficient player in the league, heading into league play making nearly 77-percent of his field goal attempts. Jackson Cooper recorded his fourth double-digit scoring game of the year – posting 12 points, converting 6-of-10 field goal attempts. Jay Elmore has found his rhythm from outside the arc, converting four of his last seven 3-pointers.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: The non-conference season was very good to Cascade Conference teams, as eight teams head into league play with two or fewer losses – with LC State, Multnomah, Southern Oregon and College of Idaho all sitting at 5-1. Last week, LC opened league play with a win over travel partner Walla Walla, as did Multnomah with a win over Warner Pacific, while C of I rolled to a win over D-II rival Northwest Nazarene. This week, along with Tech and SOU making the trip to Eastern and C of I, LC and Walla Walla travel to Northwest and Evergreen  State, with Multnomah and Warner off to Corban and Bushnell.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, Tech leads the CCC (and is No. 5 in the NAIA) in field goal percentage (.537), scoring average (90.0) and assists per game (18.2), ranking No. 4 in 3-point percentage (.353), No. 5 in rebound margin (+9.3) and blocks per game (2.2), No. 7 in scoring defense (80.3), scoring margin (+9.7) and steals per game (6.8), sitting at No. 8 in free throw percentage (.693). Individually, Jamison Guerra leads the CCC (ranking No. 3 in the NAIA) in assists per game (6.8) and in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.1), with Blake Jensen leading the league in field goal percentage (.765). Jackson Cooper ranks in the Top-10 in three categories – No. 6 in field goal percentage (.627) and No. 10 in both rebounds per game (7.2) and steals per game (1.3), with Kam Osborn No. 9 in free throw percentage (.857) and Dakota Reber No. 10 in field goal percentage (.574).
 
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 61 seasons Tech has played on what is now known as Danny Miles Court, the Owls hold a 788-180 overall record in the building – including an 101-20 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 currently are 2-1 at home, looking for their 54th-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 extending their string of games with a made 3-pointer to 1,022. 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 (1,234), just ahead of Duke (1,232), CCC rivals Corban (1,218) and College of Idaho (1,169), along with East Tennessee State (1,167).
 
RECORD BOOK:  Six players rank among the Top-75 of the Hustlin' Owls career record book, led by Keegan Shivers, who ranks No. 2 in 3-pointers made (243), No. 3 in 3-point attempts (602), No. 13 in rebounds (656) and points scored (1,306), No. 14 in field goal attempts (1,027), No. 17 in field goals made (447), No. 32 in assists (253), No. 37 in steals (83), No. 45 in games played (107), No. 49 in free throws made (169), No. 59 in blocked shots (18) and No. 61 in free throw attempts (212). Jamison Guerra is No. 7 in assists (521), No. 13 in free throws made (245), No. 17 in free throw attempts (314), No. 24 in steals (106), No. 28 in field goal attempts (846), No. 31 in points scored (1,081), No. 35 in 3-point attempts (279), No. 39 in field goals made (377), No. 45 in games played (107) and No. 48 in 3-pointers made (82); Kam Osborn is No. 34 in 3-pointers made (100), No. 36 in 3-point attempts (275), No. 53 in points scored (874), No. 54 in assists (175) and in field goal attempts (678), No. 60 in free throws made (160) and free throw attempts (214), No. 61 in field goals made (307), No. 66 in games played (83) and No. 73 in steals (45); Erik Fraser is No. 33 in 3-point attempts (282), No. 34 in 3-pointers made (100), No. 56 in games played (92) and steals (65) and No. 65 in blocked shots (16); Blake Jensen is No. 34 in blocked shots (33), No. 44 in free throw attempts (243), No. 55 in free throws made (163), No. 60 in rebounds (385) and No. 65 in games played (84); with Jay Elmore No. 31 in 3-pointers made (108) and No. 39 in 3-point attempts (257). In addition, Fraser sits just outside the Top-75 in points scored (711), field goals made (262), field goal attempts (556).
 
RIVALRY GAME, MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT: OIT will play just one game at home during a 7-week stretch, spanning from mid-November to early-January – a Dec. 14 match-up against rival Southern Oregon. The OIT-SOU game will also mark the annual Military Appreciation Night, presented by Winema Electric, as all active and retired military members, along with their family members, will be admitted for free with their military ID.