COMING UP: at Southern Oregon, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.; vs. Corban, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; vs. Bushnell, Saturday, 5 p.m.

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 – with an audio simulcast online through MyBasin.com. Video of Tuesday's game will be available through Southern Oregon's Raider Vision (PPV), with both weekend games live on the Owls Sports Network. Live Stats are available through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
BLACK OUT FOR HUNGER: Friday marks the annual Blackout for Hunger Night at Danny Miles Court, as OIT partners with the Klamath Lake Counties Food Bank to help those in need. Fans are asked to wear black (with the Hustlin' Owls wearing black uniforms), with the first 500 fans to donate a non-perishable food item or make a monetary donation to the Food Bank to receive a Blackout t-shirt.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SOUTHERN OREGON: The 3-game road trip ends Wednesday (24 hours later after snow postponed the scheduled Tuesday contest) at Southern Oregon, as the longtime rivals meet for the 253rd time. The Raiders (14-7, 9-6 CCC) have surged recently, winning 6-of-7 and nine of their last 11 – thanks to a strong rebound unit (+8.5) that leads the CCC, with the offense making 45.7% of field goals and converting 10 3-pointers a game. The emergence of guard Elijah Jackson (12.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg) has been key to the SOU success, with Gabe Reichle (9.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg) – a high school teammate of the Owls Keegan Shivers and Dakota Reber – joining forces with Bryce Dyer (10.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg) and Mason Whittaker (9.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg) to lead the Raider attack. OIT has won the past four meetings in Ashland and 14-of-16 overall – including a 97-94 double-overtime win in December – with the Owls holding a 165-87 series edge.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – CORBAN: A quick homestand starts Friday night vs. Corban, as the Warriors (12-10, 10-6) look to rebound after dropping their last three games. The Salem school is one of the top defensive clubs in the CCC, allowing just 71 points per game and forcing 13 turnovers a night. Guard Spivey Word (15.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg) leads Corban in scoring, with the backcourt tandem of R.J. Veliz (9.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Drayton Caoile (9.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg) joining transfer Luc Krystkowiak (12.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg) to lead the offensive charge. OIT won the first meeting, 65-61, rallying from a 10-point second half deficit – with the Owls holding a 75-34 series lead, including a 46-14 mark in Klamath.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – BUSHNELL: Saturday, the Owls welcome Bushnell to the Basin, as the Beacons (10-12, 6-10) snapped a 3-game losing streak with a home win vs. Eastern Oregon. Expect an up-tempo game, as the Eugene squad averages 80 points a game, but opponents are converting 47% of their field goal attempts. Forward Cory Johnson (16.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg) is a great inside-outside threat, with the trio of guard Squeeky Johnson (12.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg), forward Kaleb Burnett (11.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and guard Luke Smith (10.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg) all averaging in double-figures. Tech has won 10 of the last 11 meetings, including a 90-74 road win in December, with the Owls holding a 57-16 all-time series edge.
 
TECH EXPLODES FOR 122: The road trip started with a bang, as the Hustlin' Owls scored a season-high 122 points in a 122-92 win at Evergreen State. It was the most points scored by Tech since a 2017 win over Northwest Indian College and the third-highest scoring total by OIT in a conference game, trailing only the 124 points scored in games vs. Western Baptist in 1990 and Evergreen State in 2006. It was the 21st time the Owls reached the 122-point mark in a game.
 
EVERYONE SCORES: The big scoring night at Evergreen saw the Owls convert a season-high 15 3-pointers, with the team making 63.9% of their field goal attempts – the No. 12 single-game shooting percentage of all-time. All 13 players in uniform for the Hustlin' Owls scored at least two points – with three players (Blake Jensen, Keegan Shivers, Kam Osborn) each scoring more than 20 points, the first time since 2017-18 team three players in the same game scored 20.
 
RARE LOSS: Saturday's 80-78 loss to Northwest marked the first time in three seasons – spanning 56 games – that the Owls had dropped a game to a team with a record below the .500 mark. Tech's last Quad 3 or Quad 4 loss happened in February of 2023 – a setback at Bushnell.
 
JENSEN NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: A banner weekend from post Blake Jensen earned the big man Cascade Conference Player of the Week honors. The senior averaged 20.5 points and nine rebounds in the Hustlin' Owls two games in Washington, making a combined 12-of-18 field goals and 17-of-20 free throws. In Friday's win at Evergreen State, Jensen scored a career-high 30 points – the first 30-point game by an OIT player in over two seasons, making 9-of-10 field goals and 12-of-13 free throws. A day later, he recorded his fourth double-double of the year, scoring 11 points with 10 rebounds at Northwest.
 
SHIVERS REACHES MILESTONE: Guard Keegan Shivers continued to etch his name in the OIT history book as a quality weekend in Washington moved the senior into record territory. He ran a string of double-digit scoring games to 11 on the trip, while posting his fifth game with 20-or-more points with a 20-point night at Evergreen.  Shivers eclipsed the 1,500-point mark on Friday, becoming the fifth player to reach the scoring plateau – joining Mitchell Fink, Lavell Hesia, Ryan Fiegi and Herb McEachin in the club – with Shivers and McEachin the only OIT players to score 1,500 points with 700 rebounds. Shivers pulled even with Bob Townsend with 272 career 3-pointers made on Saturday – needing one triple to become Tech's all-time leader.
 
GUERRA HITS 600-ASSIST MARK: With a second half assist on Saturday night at Northwest, Jamison Guerra became the fourth OIT player to record 600 assists in a career. The senior joins Mitchell Fink, Todd Matthews and Greg Regan in the exclusive club.
 
OSBORN CONTINUES OFFENSIVE TEAR: For the second-straight weekend, Kam Osborn had a dominating performance – scoring 20 points at Evergreen State and 19 more at Northwest – converting a career-best six 3-pointers in the Friday win. Over the past four games, the senior is averaging 19 points, while over his last six games, Osborn has connected on 20-of-35 3-point attempts. In CCC play, Osborn ranks in the league's Top-10 in scoring average (15.6) and 3-point percentage (.451).
 
OWLS RANKED #24: The Hustlin' Owls returned to the Top-25 for the first time since the Preseason Poll, earning the No. 24 spot in the Jan. 29 tabulation. Two opponents were also in the rating – No. 4 College of Idaho and No. 10 Arizona Christian. Tech's loss to Northwest dropped the team 14 spots in the latest NAIA RPI rating to No. 34, with the second NAIA West ARC rating released on Tuesday.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: College of Idaho has command of the league standings, holding a 15-1 record with six games remaining in the conference seasons – two games clear of Tech and three ahead of LC State. Behind the trio, four teams are stuck in a logjam between fourth and seventh place – as Corban is 10-6, SOU is 9-6, with Eastern and Multnomah both 9-7. This weekend, along with OIT and SOU hosting Bushnell and Corban, LC State and Walla Walla head to C of I and Eastern, with Northwest and Evergreen State off to Warner Pacific and Multnomah.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, the Owls lead the league in scoring offense (85.8), ranking No. 2 in scoring margin (+10.7), field goal percentage (.491), 3-point percentage (.358), defensive 3-point percentage (.305) and rebound margin (+7.7), No. 3 in 3-pointers made per game (7.9), No. 4 in assists per game (14.8), No. 6 in scoring defense (75.1), No. 7 in steals per game (6.1), No. 8 in free throw percentage (.705) and No. 11 in blocks per game (1.8). Individually, Blake Jensen leads the CCC in field goal percentage (.672) and No. 9 in rebounds per game (6.9), Jamison Guerra is No. 1 in assists per game and No. 5 in steals per game (1.7), Kam Osborn is No. 3 in free throw percentage (.880) and No. 8 in 3-point percentage (.411), Jay Elmore is No. 4 in 3-point percentage (.431), with Keegan Shivers No. 5 in 3-pointers made per game (2.1) and No. 10 in rebounds per game (6.5).
 
ATTENDANCE LEADERS: Tech has dominated the NAIA in men's basketball attendance this season, leading all schools with 1,624 fans coming to each game – tops among all small college teams in the West and No. 3 among all Oregon basketball playing schools. OIT sits ahead of College of Idaho (1,335), Carroll (758), LC State (754) and Taylor (660) among NAIA attendance.
 
CLOSING IN ON 800 HOME WINS: 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 794-181 overall record in the building – including an 107-21 mark under current head coach Justin Parnell – six wins away from 800. 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 8-2 at home, needing one more home victory for their 54th-straight winning season on their home floor.
 
RECORD BOOK:  Six players rank among the Top-75 of the Hustlin' Owls career record book, led by Keegan Shivers, who is tied for No. 1 in 3-pointers made (272), ranking No. 2 in 3-point attempts (692), No. 5 in points scored (1,532), No. 6 in field goal attempts (1,202), No. 8 in rebounds (758), No. 9 in field goals made (524), No. 29 in assists (285), No. 32 in free throws made (213) and games played (122), No. 34 in steals (91), ranking No. 36 in free throw attempts (269) and No. 59 in blocked shots (19). Jamison Guerra is No. 4 in assists (600), No. 9 in free throw attempts (382), No. 11 in free throws made (283), No. 13 in steals (134), No. 18 in points scored (1,245), No. 21 in field goal attempts (957), No. 25 in field goals made (433), No. 32 in 3-point attempts (318) and in games played (122) and No. 40 in 3-pointers made (96); Kam Osborn is No. 25 in 3-point attempts (346), No. 28 in 3-pointers made (132), No. 29 in field goal attempts (846), No. 30 in points scored (1,108), No. 31 in free throws made (214), No. 33 in free throw attempts (276), No. 38 in field goals made (381), No. 47 in assists (199), No. 56 in games played (98) and No. 64 in steals (56); Erik Fraser is No. 29 in 3-point attempts (327), No. 32 in 3-pointers made (112), No. 46 in steals (75), blocked shots (23) and games played (107), No. 60 in field goal attempts (651), No. 65 in field goals made (299) and points scored (820), ranking No. 71 in rebounds (346); Blake Jensen is No. 17 in free throw attempts (335), No. 18 in free throws made (233), No. 26 in blocked shots (40), No. 29 in rebounds (502), No. 55 in games played (99), No. 68 in points scored and No. 70 in field goals made (292); with Jay Elmore No. 30 in 3-pointers made (125) and No. 36 in 3-point attempts (293).
 
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 1,036. 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 (1,251) and Duke (1,246) hold the current 3-point streak record, just ahead of CCC rivals Corban (1,233) and College of Idaho (1,185), along with East Tennessee State (1,181).
 
NEXT WEEK: Next weekend, the Hustlin' Owls taking their final regular-season road trip, making the long journey to Lewis-Clark State (Feb. 14) and Walla Walla (Feb. 15).