COMING UP: vs. Southern Oregon, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Exhibition vs. Seattle Mountaineers, Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: All OIT men's basketball games will be carried live on 92.5 KLAD-FM in the Klamath Basin and streamed online at MyBasin.com, with Mike Safford on the call – beginning 30-minutes prior to the scheduled tip off. All home games (and all Cascade Conference games) will be streamed on the Urban Edge Network (with audio simulcast from the KLAD broadcast), while Live Stats via OIT's SIDEARM Sports Portal.
 
NOTE SATURDAY GAME TIME CHANGE: Saturday's exhibition game vs. the Seattle Mountaineers has been pushed back 30 minutes (to accommodate staffing due to OIT's soccer doubleheader) – with tip-off now set for 5:30 p.m.
 
TACO BELL TIP-OFF: The Owls open the season this weekend, hosting Southern Oregon in the Taco Bell Tip-Off. The first 500 fans to the game will receive a special Taco Bell Tip-Off t-shirt with other special giveaways occurring at halftime.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SOUTHERN OREGON: Tech squares off with their oldest rival to begin the 2025-26 season, playing Southern Oregon for the 254th time – the 76th-straight season that the two teams have met on the hardwood. The Raiders (23-11 in 2024-25) are looking to build off their best postseason run in program history, advancing to the NAIA national quarterfinals a No. 11 seed – a team that was among the top rebounding (+6.9) teams in the Cascade Conference, while hitting 37% of their 3-point chances.  A pair of All-CCC players are back – guard Elijah Jackson (14.9 ppg, 3.0 apg) and forward Bryce Dyer (11.0 ppg, 9.4 rpg) – as is post Joe Juhala (8.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and wing Gio Evanson (5.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg). Head coach Matt Zosel must replace three starters, but had a quality recruiting class, including a pair of NCAA transfers. OIT holds a 166-87 series edge, including a 100-21 record in Klamath – with Tech winning the last five meetings and 15 of the previous 17.
 
OPENERS VS. SOU: For just the second time ever, OIT and SOU will open the season against each other – and first time in 40 years. The 1985 season began with a home-and-home series between the rivals, with the Raiders picking up a 66-63 victory in Ashland, while Tech answered the next night with a rousing 100-65 win in the Basin.
 
PRESEASON GAMES VS. SOU: On most occasions, conference opponents do not face league foes during the preseason games – but for the Hustlin' Owls and the Raiders – that philosophy doesn't hold true. Due to the lack of opponents close to Klamath Falls and Ashland, OIT and SOU have used the proximity to not only play in each preseason tournaments hosted by each other – but play non-conference games. Over the last 25 years, the rivals have played 11 teams prior to conference play – including every season from 2005-08 – with the last preseason meeting in 2017. Six times (2006, 2002, 1996, 1992, 1990, 1985) the teams played twice in non-league action, while in 1976 – the teams met five times, three in preseason and twice in Evergreen Conference play.
 
ALL-TIME IN SEASON OPENERS: Over the last 75 years, the Hustlin' Owls are a combined 51-24 in season-opening games – with the team putting a 3-game win streak on the line, having defeated Jessup, Simpson and Providence to open the last three years.
 
HOME OPENER WIN STREAK ON THE LINE: Tech will put a 23-game win streak on the line Friday night in home-opening games. The Hustlln' Owls are 65-10 all-time in their home openers, winning each of the games from 2002-24 – with the last loss coming Nov. 16, 2001, a 95-93 setback to Division II Chico State.
 
OCTOBER BASKETBALL: The season opener on Oct. 24 marks the earliest beginning of men's basketball action in OIT history. Two years ago, the Owls set the bar with a Oct. 26 home win over Simpson – one of 12 games Tech has played during October – dating back to 2002. The Hustlin' Owls head into the weekend with a perfect 12-0 record in October contests.
 
SUCCESS AT DANNY MILES COURT: 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 798-182 overall record in the building – including an 111-22 mark under current head coach Justin Parnell – two wins away from 800 home victories. 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 finished the 2024-25 season 12-3 at home, clinching their 54th-straight winning season on their home floor – the longest streak in NAIA history.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SEATTLE MOUNTAINEERS: Saturday, the Hustlin' Owls welcome the Seattle Mountaineers back to the Basin for the eighth time, with OIT a perfect 6-0 all-time vs. the traveling squad (the 2024 match-up was canceled due to roof issues at Danny Miles Court). The Mountaineers (2-1), who hold associations with Athletes in Action (AIA), the American Basketball Association (ABA), along with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), opened their season with three games in Canada – a loss to British Columbia, but wins over Simon Fraser and Victoria. Forward Leverenzel Booth (14.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg) from Robert Morris, anchors the paint for Don Sims team, with guards Davon Bolton (15.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg) from Central Washington, Kalep Crane (16.0 ppg, 4.0 apg) from Tabor and College of Idaho grad Charles Elzie (14.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg) the top guards.
 
EXHIBITION GAMES: Since the NAIA began allowing exhibition contests prior to the 2024 season – OIT has faced three different non-sanctioned teams (Seattle Mountaineers, Bendigo Braves from Australia and Idaho Select – which included OIT alumni players). During that time, while many CCC opponents dot their schedule with NCAA opponents – the Owls have played just four, facing Oregon in 2005, Nevada in 2012 and the University of Portland in 2015 and 2017.
 
TECH PICKED FOURTH IN CCC POLL: The Hustlin' Owls were picked fourth by the 11 Cascade Conference coaches in the 2025-26 preseason poll, released last week.  Defending CCC and NAIA champ, College of Idaho earned eight first-place votes and 117 voter points to top the ranking, followed by Southern Oregon (103), Lewis-Clark State (93) and OIT (88). Eastern Oregon (80) was fifth, with Bushnell (67), Corban (51) and Northwest (47) rounding out the Top-8. The league schedule will feature 20 games, 10 home-and-home matchups – with the Top-8 teams in the final standings advancing to the CCC Championships.
 
REPLACING A STELLAR SENIOR CLASS: Tech must replace all five starters from last season's 23-8 team – including the All-CCC guard line of Jamison Guerra, Kam Osborn and Keegan Shivers. Joined by Erik Fraser, Blake Jensen and Jay Elmore, the six graduated seniors combined for 75% of the minutes played and 75% of the points scored during the 2024-25 season.
 
CUPBOARD NOT BARE: Nine players return from last season's team – including two key reserves, senior Dakota Reber and junior Jackson Cooper – who were part of the regular rotation throughout the year. Reber averaged seven points per game in 15 minutes per night, while Cooper averaged nine points and five rebounds per game in 18 minutes a night. Sophomore Sean Chris Tresvant and redshirt freshman Kaden Groenig will be in the point-guard rotation, senior Grant Tull, junior Garrett Osborne, sophomore Jared Sucher and redshirt freshman Quincy Townsend are back at the wing and will see extending playing time, as will junior post Logan Thebiay.
 
GREAT RECRUITING CLASS: Five freshmen and one transfer round out the roster – with each of the newcomers earning either All-State or All-America honors. Both Owen Nathan and Colby Whicker will be in the mix at point-guard – Nathan the Portland Interscholastic League MVP and 6A All-State pick at Roosevelt and Whicker a junior transfer from Southwestern Oregon CC, where he was an NWAC All-American. Four freshman wings will also be key to the Owls success – Gylan Payne, James Kefgen, Mason Bierbrauer and Kyle Bittle. Payne was the Three Rivers League Player of the Year and a 6A All-State pick at Oregon City, Kefgen hit 83 3-pointers at Westview High, earning 6A All-State honors, Bierbrauer earned all-state honors helping Barlow win the 6A state title, while Bittle earned 5A All-State honors at Crater High.
 
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 1,043. 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. Duke (1,264) and UNLV (1,262) hold the current 3-point streak record, just ahead of CCC rivals Corban (1,226) and College of Idaho (1,200), along with East Tennessee State (1,190).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Hustlin' Owls will have next week off, training for the first of two preseason trips – with the club heading to Arizona for the Fultz Memorial Classic, hosted by Arizona Christian, Nov. 7-8.