COMING UP: at Corban, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; at Bushnell, 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 Live Video of games from the Willamette Valley will be available – Friday via Corban's Team 1 Sports Platform, with Saturday's game at Bushnell live on the Owls Sports Network (produced by BU). Live Stats will be available through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal, with in-game updates for each game provided on "X" by following @OITMBB.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2023-24 season, including last Tuesday's match-up vs. SOU are posted online via the OIT Men's Basketball Flickr Page, while highlight clips (including all three wins last week) are posted online via the new OIT Men's Basketball YouTube Channel.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – CORBAN: The road swing starts Friday night in Salem, as the Owls look to complete a season sweep of Corban. The Warriors (15-8, 12-6 CCC) had a 6-game win streak snapped Saturday against LC State, however, take an 8-3 home record into the match-up with OIT. Corban is efficient, averaging 81 points per game, converting 47-percent of their field goals, while committing just 10 turnovers a night. It is a different squad that met Tech in Klamath, as leading scorer Aundree Polk (17.9 ppg) is no longer with the program – but the Warriors have relied on forwards Jay Wilson (15.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Collin Warmouth (11.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg), along with guards Taylor Anderson (13.3 ppg, 3.8 apg) and Reece Van Lierop (9.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg) to pick up the slack.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WARRIORS: Friday night's match-up marks the 108th meeting between the longtime rivals, with OIT's 94-84 come-from-behind win in January giving the Hustlin' Owls a 73-34 series lead. Corban has had the recent edge in Salem, winning three of the last four games, but Tech holds a 26-20 series lead in the Capitol City.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – BUSHNELL: The trip concludes in Eugene, with an uptempo game expected against a Beacons (15-9, 12-6) team that has scored 100-or-more points seven times. BU heads into the weekend on a 6-game win streak to move into a tie for fourth-place in the standings – scoring 100 points 4-times in the run – with the club averaging 90 points a game and leading the league by knocking down 41-percent of their 3-point attempts. The guard line of Stevie Schlabach (15.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg), Kaden Sand (15.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Trevon Richmond (8.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg) are tough to stop, as is post Spencer Hoffman (13.6 ppg, 9.7 rpg) – with Sand scoring a season-high 32 points in the first meeting between the teams.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BEACONS: OIT and Bushnell have met 70 times on the hardwood, with the Hustlin' Owls holding a 54-16 series lead, including a wild 112-98 victory in January behind 25 points from Kam Osborn. Tech holds a 18-13 series edge in Lane County, including wins in two of the last three games inside the Morse Event Center.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: The Hustlin' Owls head into the weekend tied with Lewis-Clark State for second-place in the Cascade Conference standings – two games behind league-leading College of Idaho. Both OIT and LC have a 3-game lead on a trio of teams (Corban, Bushnell, Southern Oregon) in fourth-place – needing one win, or a loss by either Corban or Bushnell – to clinch a home CCC Tournament quarterfinal date on Feb. 28. The final playoff spot will come down to the wire, as Northwest holds a one-game lead on Multnomah and Walla Walla – with each of the teams squaring off against each other in the next two weeks.
 
POSTSEASON SPOT CLINCHED: With their win on Feb. 2 at Multnomah, Tech clinched a playoff spot in the 8-team Cascade Conference Championships – the 30th-straight postseason appearance. The Owls have played extra games every season since the 1992-93 season (the CCC opted out of the postseason in 2020-21 due to COVID), including 19 of their 22 trips to the NAIA national tournament.
 
OWLS JUMP TO #16 IN NAIA POLL: OIT climbed seven spots in the latest NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll, jumping to No. 16 in ranking. It marks the highest regular-season rating for the Hustlin' Owls since the NAIA merged into one division (Tech was No. 13 in the 2021-22 preseason poll) – the highest overall ranking for the club since ending the 2019-20 regular-season at No. 7 in the NAIA Division II poll. The Owls head into the weekend ranked No. 12 in both the Victory Sports Network and the Massey Computer Rating, ranked No. 19 in the NAIA Hoops Report poll and ranked No. 4 in the West ARC rating (behind C of I, Montana Tech and Arizona Christian).
 
BEST STARTS: The Hustlin' Owls head into the week with a 20-4 record – their best start under head coach Justin Parnell and their best start since the 2011-12 national championship season. It is the 16th time an OIT team has started 20-4 or better – with seven teams (1958, 1977, 1988, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2024) starting 20-4, seven teams have started 21-3 (1974, 1975, 1987, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2012), with the 1997 and 2003 teams beginning 22-2. Six straight seasons – from 2006-12, the Owls had recorded starts of 20-4 or better each year.
 
WIN STREAK: The homestand sweep helped Tech record their second 6-game win streak of the season, while extending their home win streak to seven games. In the current run, the Hustlin' Owls have won all six games by at least seven points, with the club winning 14 of their last 16 games dating back to the first week of December.
 
SHOOTING SPREE CONTINUES: For just the fourth time in the last 25 years, the Hustlin' Owls have made 50-percent of their field goal attempts in 6-straight games. Tech began their current streak at Eastern Oregon on Jan. 27 and have made a combined 56-percent of their field goal attempts during the run – currently leading the CCC and ranking No. 11 in the NAIA with a .511 field goal percentage. OIT last had a string of 50-percent shooting games in February of 2020, equaling the mark in December of 2011 and November of 2008.
 
SWEEPING SOUTHERN: Last Tuesday's 76-67 win over Southern Oregon completed a season sweep of Tech's oldest rival – marking the sixth time in the last eight seasons OIT has claimed the regular-season series with the Raiders. The Owls are now 99-21 all-time vs. SOU in the Basin.
 
GUARDS HAVE BIG WEEK: The duo of Jamison Guerra and Kam Osborn were instrumental in the Hustlin' Owls sweeping the 3-game homestand. Guerra averaged 12 points and eight assists per game – including his fifth double-double of the year (12 points, 10 assists) vs. Evergreen State – while becoming the ninth player in program history to surpass 400 career assists. Osborn averaged 17 points per game – hitting big 3-pointers late in both games against Southern and Northwest, finishing the week 7-of-13 from 3-point range. He set a new career-high with six rebounds vs. TESC, with his 20-point effort vs. NU his fifth 20-or-more point game of the year.
 
FORWARDS ON A ROLL: Tech continued to get quality production from inside the paint, as the trio of Blake Jensen, Kody Bauman and Jackson Cooper all were key in the three home wins. Jensen averaged 11 points and seven rebounds per game – including 14 points and eight rebounds vs. Evergreen, hitting a combined 12-of-15 field goal attempts – improving his season field goal percentage to .624. Bauman averaged 10 points and five rebounds a game off the bench, scoring 12 points in the win over Northwest – finishing the weekend making 11-of-18 shot attempts. Cooper averaged eight points and seven rebounds a game off the bench – posting 13 points and nine rebounds vs. Evergreen State – his sixth double-figure scoring game of the year.

AROUND THE CONFERENCE: The second-to-last week of the conference schedule has College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon off to Northwest and Evergreen State; Warner Pacific and Multnomah traveling to Walla Walla and Lewis-Clark State; with Corban and Bushnell hosting Southern Oregon and OIT.
 
CONFERENCE LEADERS: As a team, OIT leads the Cascade Conference in field goal percentage (.511) and assists per game (17.7), ranking No. 2 in scoring average (88.0), scoring margin (+10.6) and rebound margin (+6.4). Individually, Keegan Shivers leads the CCC in defensive rebounds (7.5), ranking No. 4 in rebounds per game (8.2) and No. 5 in 3-pointers made per game (2.5); Blake Jensen is No. 1 in offensive rebounds per game (3.1), No. 3 in field goal percentage (.624) and No. 8 in rebounds per game (6.5); with Jamison Guerra No. 1 in assists per game (7.1) and No. 10 in steals per game (1.2). Kody Bauman ranks No. 4 in field goal percentage (.593), Jay Elmore is No. 8 in 3-point percentage (.429), Kam Osborn is No. 9 in free throw percentage (.796) and No. 10 in scoring average (14.4), with Erik Fraser is No. 10 in field goal percentage (.538).
 
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS: Two Cascade Conference teams sit atop the NAIA attendance rankings, as College of Idaho (1,383) claimed the top spot, just ahead of the Hustlin' Owls (1,298) – both well ahead of Carroll (1,015) and Concordia-Nebraska (922). OIT's attendance average would rank No. 3 in the NCAA Division III, No. 11 in the Division II and No. 271 out of 361 Division I teams – with OIT and C of I ahead of all small college teams 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 784-178 overall record in the building – including an 97-18 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). With their current 10-2 home record, OIT has secured 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 1,007. 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 (1,213), just ahead of CCC rival Corban (1,204), Duke (1,173) and College of Idaho (1,146).
 
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. 7 in 3-pointers made (207), No. 10 in 3-point attempts (499), No. 22 in rebounds (561), No. 25 in field goal attempts (875), No. 28 in points scored (1,107), No. 38 in field goals made (378), No. 41 in assists (212), No. 47 in steals (73), No. 64 in free throws made (144) and No. 70 in free throw attempts (183). Jamison Guerra is No. 9 in assists (423), No. 31 in free throws made (204), No. 35 in free throw attempts (263), No. 37 in steals (82), No. 42 in 3-point attempts (236), No. 50 in points scored (889), No. 58 in field goal attempts (649), ranking No. 59 in 3-pointers made (65) and in field goals made (310); Jay Elmore is No. 43 in 3-pointers made (88) and No. 51 in 3-point attempts (216); Erik Fraser is No. 48 in 3-point attempts (219) and No. 53 in 3-pointers made (78); Kam Osborn is No. 51 in 3-pointers made (79) and No. 52 in 3-point attempts (214); Kody Bauman is No. 33 in blocked shots (33), with Blake Jensen No. 38 in blocked shots (28).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Owls close out the regular-season at home vs. Lewis-Clark State and Walla Walla. Friday (Feb. 23) vs. LC will have an 1 p.m. start time as part of K-12 Day, as kids are welcomed to Danny Miles Court from local schools. Saturday (Feb. 24) vs. WWU is Senior Night, with a 9 p.m. start time, as the two seniors (Kam Osborn, Kody Bauman) will be honored.