COMING UP: vs. Evergreen, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; vs. Northwest, Saturday, 5 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 Cascade Conference games, home and away, will have Live Video via the Urban Edge Network, while Live Stats will be available via OIT's SIDEARM Sports Portal.
 
UPCOMING PROMOTIONAL NIGHTS: This weekend begins the first of 10 94-foot halftime putts for $5,000 – sponsored by Lithia of Klamath Falls. In addition, Saturday is Beach Night (wear your best beach attire). On Dec. 19, Tech will host Military/First Responders Appreciation Night, with a t-shirt giveaway courtesy of Winema Electric, while Dec. 20, it is Rogue Credit Union $1 Popcorn Night. For tickets to all home events, visit OIT's Ticket Portal.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EVERGREEN STATE: The Hustlin' Owls return home to begin a 4-game homestand, starting Friday night vs. Evergreen State. The Geoducks (0-2) have played a unique schedule, with only two countable games (home losses to Montana Western and Benedictine Mesa), while playing the most NCAA exhibition games of any CCC school – six (two losses at Alaska Anchorage, plus losses to Portland State, Seattle Pacific, St. Martin's and Pacific Lutheran). The roster looks much different than a season ago, as Bushnell transfer Tony Frolich-Fair (23.3. ppg, 5.0 rpg) leads the CCC in scoring, while junior college transfers Kenzel Massey (11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Gabriel Washington (5.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg), along with guard Jordan Smalls (7.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg) give Evergreen playmakers. The squad is averaging 75 points a game and converting 39% of 3-point attempts, but opponents are making 50% of their field goal chances. Tech takes an 18-game win streak against TESC into the game, with head coach Justin Parnell 16-0 all-time against the Washington school.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – NORTHWEST: The weekend ends late Saturday afternoon, as Northwest University looks to post a second-straight win over Tech, as the Eagles (2-4) stunned the Owls last season in Washington, 80-78. The current NU squad has quality victories over Park Gilbert and Providence, with the team also playing a pair of NCAA Division I exhibition games (against Idaho State and Gonzaga). Northwest is averaging 70.5 points per game and converting 42% of their field goal chances, while opponents have averaged four more rebounds a night than the Eagles. Returners Ethan Martin (10.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg) and Trent Williams (8.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg) provide experience for Rich Skeen's unit, while transfer guard Christian Watkins (14.5 ppg, 4.1 apg) and D-II transfer post Logan Stempaniak (12.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg) lead the squad in scoring. It is the 60th all-time meeting, with OIT holding a 47-12 series edge, including a 30-2 record in Klamath.
 
CONFERENCE SEASON OPENS THIS WEEK: The 20-game Cascade Conference schedule begins this week, as the 11 schools in the circuit battle for two NAIA Tournament bids – one to the regular-season champ, the other the winner of the 8-team league postseason tournament. Each team will play a home-and-home series with the 10 other schools, with partner schools Corban-Bushnell, Eastern Oregon-College of Idaho, Walla Walla-LC State, Northwest-Evergreen State, OIT-Southern Oregon playing each other on a Tuesday night, followed by a weekend game vs. Warner Pacific, the lone team without a weekend foe. All other league games will be played as Friday-Saturday doubleheaders – as the men's games will follow the women's contest.
 
TOP-25 POLL: The Owls dropped three spots to No. 22 in the second regular-season NAIA Top-25 poll, released on Nov. 26. Four OIT opponents also are in the ranking – No. 2 Arizona Christian, No. 12 College of Idaho, No. 19 Hope International, with Lewis-Clark State receiving votes.
 
SPLIT IN CALIFORNIA: Tech closed out non-conference play at the Royals Thanksgiving Classic in Fullerton, Calif., splitting games against Great Southwest Athletic Conference teams. The opener was a rematch against The Master's – with last Monday's game similar to the first meeting in Arizona, an OIT overtime win. The second match-up saw Tech rally from a first half deficit to earn an 83-78 win – converting 27-of-36 free throw attempts in the victory – with the Owls scoring 80-or-more points in four of their five wins this season. Just 24 hours later, a physical Hope International team put the clamps on the Owls attack, holding OIT to 39% shooting in an 80-63 win – completing a season sweep, with Tech failing to score 70 points in two of their three losses.
 
COOPER HAS MONSTER NIGHT, EARNS SECOND LEAGUE AWARD: One of the top individual performances in the 76-year history of OIT Basketball earned Jackson Cooper his second CCC Player of the Week honor of the season. The junior scored a career-high 38 points with nine rebounds in the Owls win over The Master's – the 15th time an OIT player has posted 38-or-more points in a game and the first since current assistant, Mitch Fink, scored 40 vs. Northwest in 2020. Cooper converted 13-of-18 field goal attempts, while making 12-of-13 free throw opportunities – the 22nd time an OIT player made 12-or-more free throws in a game. For the season, the forward leads the Owls in scoring average (17.3) and assists per game (4.9), making 58% of his field goal attempts.
 
SUCHER CONTINUES STELLAR START: Guard Jared Sucher continued his tremendous start to the 2025-26 season – including a career-high 21 points in Tuesday's loss to Hope International. The sophomore has scored in double-figures in 7-of-8 games, connecting on 19-of-29 field goal attempts over the past three contests. For the season, Sucher is averaging 15.3 points a game, while leading the team in 3-point shooting, making 50% (16-of-32) of his attempts.
 
MORE FROM THE FRESHMEN: Tech continued to get key production from their true freshmen on the trip to California. Starting forward Gylan Payne recorded eight points and five rebounds in the win vs. TMU, leading the team with nine rebounds against Hope International. Point-guard Owen Nathan five rebounds and two steals in Monday's win, earning a start vs. HIU, finishing with four points, six rebounds and two assists. Reserve guard James Kefgen came off the bench in the HIU game, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers, finishing with a career-high six points.
 
ROSTER UPDATE: Reserve post Logan Thebiay has left the men's basketball program for personal reasons. The redshirt junior had played in the first six games in 2025-26, averaging 1.0 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: Jackson Cooper ranks among the CCC's Top-10 in four stat categories – No. 2 in assists per game (4.9), No. 5 in scoring average (17.4), No. 6 in field goal percentage (.582) and No. 10 in rebounds per game (6.5). Gylan Payne is No. 3 in rebounds per game (7.3), No. 8 in steals per game (1.6) and No. 9 in blocked shots per game (0.9), with Jared Sucher No. 4 in 3-point percentage (.500).
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Less than half the league was in action over the Thanksgiving holiday break, with Southern Oregon dropping both games at the Royals Thanksgiving Classic, Eastern Oregon going 1-2 in Arizona (losses to Arizona Christian and Benedictine Mesa), with C of I dropping a tough overtime thriller at ACU and Corban dominated Northwest Indian College. The league schedule starts Tuesday with Bushnell traveling to Corban, with both teams playing weekend games at Warner Pacific, LC State and Walla Walla travel to C of I and EOU, with Northwest and Evergreen headed to OIT and SOU.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: 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 an 801-183 overall record in the building – including an 114-23 mark under current head coach Justin Parnell – surpassing the 800-home victory mark Nov. 15 vs. Our Lady of the Lake. 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 are 3-1 at home this season, looking to extend a 54-year streak of winning seasons on their home floor – the longest streak in NAIA history.
 
PARNELL CLOSES IN ON 200: With the win last Monday vs. The Master's, head coach Justin Parnell picked up his 198th career win – just two victories away from 200 in his 10-year tenure at OIT. Parnell ranks second in all-time victories behind Danny Miles, who had 1,040 wins in 45 years at Tech – ranking No. 2 all-time in NAIA history. Parnell looks to be the third CCC coach two win 200 collegiate games – chasing C of I's Colby Blaine (211) and LC State's Austin Johnson (206).
 
RECORD BOOK: Two Hustlin' Owls have cracked the Top-75 in the OIT career record book, as Jackson Cooper ranks No. 61 in blocks (18), No. 66 in free throw attempts (199) and No. 75 in rebounds (338), while sitting just outside the mark in free throws made (128). Dakota Reber is No. 64 in blocks (17) and just outside the list in 3-pointers made (30) and attempted (91).
 
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 1,051. 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 (1,272) and UNLV (1,268) hold the current 3-point streak record, just ahead of CCC rivals Corban (1,233) and College of Idaho (1,209), along with East Tennessee State (1,197).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Owls will have the weekend off to prepare for Finals, with the squad closing out a 4-game homestand with match-ups against Bushnell (Dec. 19 – Military/First Responders Appreciation Night) and Corban (Dec. 20 – Rogue Credit Union $1 Popcorn Night).