COMING UP: at Northwest, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; at Evergreen, 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.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – NORTHWEST: The trip up I-5 begins Friday on the shores of Lake Washington, as Tech faces Northwest – who upset the Owls inside Brodin Pavilion a season ago. The Eagles (6-12, 3-7 CCC) are not the same team that OIT defeated by 33 points last month, as NU has won 3-of-4 – with the lone loss, a 7-point decision at LC State. The Kirkland school is averaging 74 points a game, but allowing the opposition to convert 46% of their field goals. Logan Stempniak (14.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg) is the leading scorer and Christian Watkins (12.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 52 steals) is one of the top on-ball defenders in the league. Newcomer Lucius Fox (12.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg) has made an immediate impact after joining the team two weeks ago. The two teams have met 60 previous times, with the Owls holding a 48-12 series edge.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EVERGREEN: Day 2 of the Washington swing heads to Olympia, as the Owls meet a much-improved Evergreen squad, with the Geoducks (3-9, 3-7) currently in position to advance to the postseason for the first time in over a decade. TESC has won 3-of-5 and scored 85-or-more points in five of their last six games (including a 117-point outburst at Walla Walla), however, the Greeners allow 89 points a game, with opponents making 50.4% of their field goals. Tony Frohlich-Fair (23.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg) leads the CCC in scoring average, with the trio of Bradley Graham (8.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg), Zach Jefferson (8.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg) and Kenzel Massey (7.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg) other options. OIT takes a 19-game win streak over TESC into the matchup (scoring 89-or-more points in 11-straight meetings) and hold a 47-9 series lead.
 
METRICS AND RANKINGS: OIT enters the week ranked No. 7 in the first West ARC rating – the key factor in determining bids to the NAIA Championships. Arizona Christian, Hope International, Rocky Mountain, Benedictine Mesa, Montana Tech and LC State sit above the Owls, with Montana Western, Carroll and Bellevue rounding out the Top-10. Despite the ARC rating, Tech is the top CCC team in the NAIA Top-25 (No. 21), the top team in the RPI (No. 21) and the top team in Strength of Schedule (No. 25).
 
TALE OF TWO GAMES: The Owls split two games last week – a 68-67 loss at Southern Oregon before toppling Warner Pacific in Portland, 82-70. Against SOU, Tech made just 44% of field goals (23% from 3-point range) and watched as the Raiders made 3-straight 3's inside the final two minutes for the victory. Against WPU, the Owls converted 58% of field goals and 44% of 3-point attempts, rallying from a 10-point first half deficit for the win.
 
DEFENSE IS THE KEY: Tech continued to showcase the top defense in the CCC through the first 10 games of league play – leading the league in defensive field goal percentage (.389), defensive 3-point percentage (.255) and scoring defense (67.1). In the Hustlin' Owls eight CCC victories, OIT has limited each opponent to under 42% shooting, with none of the teams surpassing 70 points. In addition, the Owls have had a positive turnover margin in each of their last six games.
 
OFFENSIVE NUMBERS: The hot shooting night at WPU helped the Owls improve to 6-0 this season when converting 50% or more of their field goal attempts, with the team improving to 5-0 when making at least 40% of their 3-point shots. The 82 points by Tech helped the squad push their season record to 10-0 when scoring at least 80 points in a game.
 
COOPER CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: Forward Jackson Cooper continues to be among the front-runners for Cascade Conference Player of the Year honors, recording strong efforts in both road games. The junior recorded his fifth 20-or-more point game at Southern – scoring 23 points with seven assists – while adding 15 points and nine assists at Warner. Cooper surpassed the 800-point mark in his OIT career, leads the CCC in assists per game – recording eight games this season with 7-or-more assists.
 
REBER DOMINATING THE CCC: Tech's lone senior starter, Dakota Reber, continued to put up big numbers in his final tour of the Cascade Conference – posting his team-leading seventh game with 20-or-more points. Reber, who scored 17 points in the loss at SOU, followed it up with a career-high 27 points and eight rebounds in the win at Warner Pacific. The forward, who spent the 2022-23 season at WPU, made 10-of-15 field goals, including a season-best five 3-pointers. In the 10 league counters, Reber is averaging nearly 20 points and eight rebounds, converting 58% of his field goal attempts.
 
MORE FROM THE TRIP: Production from both Owen Nathan and Grant Tull continued to be crucial for the Hustlin' Owls in the first two games of the 4-game road swing. Nathan had five points, four rebounds and three assists at SOU, followed by seven points, six rebounds and six assists vs. WPU – with the true freshman averaging seven points, five rebounds and four assists a game over his last eight games. Tull scored eight points and added seven rebounds in Saturday's win – marking the third time four games that the senior has posted 6-or-more rebounds.
 
INSIDE THE CCC: Four teams sit atop the Cascade Conference standings at the midway point of the season, as SOU's win over Tech and Corban's win at Eastern created the logjam between OIT, LC State, EOU and Southern at 8-2, with C of I a game back at 7-3. The second half begins with Corban at Bushnell, with both teams hosting Warner Pacific, EOU and C of I off to LC State and Walla Walla, with Southern and OIT traveling to Northwest and Evergreen.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, the Hustlin' Owls lead the CCC in field goal percentage (.485), rebound margin (+8.7) and assists per game (15.8), ranking No. 2 in scoring average (82.8). Individually, Jackson Cooper leads the league (and ranks No. 8 in the NAIA) in assists per game (6.2), ranking No. 3 in scoring average (17.5), No. 5 in rebounds per game (7.5) and No. 6 in field goal percentage (.546), with Dakota Reber No. 5 in scoring average (16.9) and No. 8 in rebounds per game (6.5). Gylan Payne is No. 6 in steals per game (1.5), No. 7 in field goal percentage (.544), No. 8 in blocked shots (0.8), No. 9 in rebounds per game (6.1), with Grant Tull No. 6 in 3-point percentage (.426).
 
RECORD HOME STREAK EXTENDED: 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 806-184 overall record in the building – including an 119-24 mark under current head coach Justin Parnell. Including this year, OIT has recorded a winning record in 58-of-60 seasons (going 5-7 in 1965-66 and 1-8 in 1970-71), including four undefeated seasons (1986-87, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11). The Owls are 8-2 at home this season, extending the longest home season win streak in NAIA history to 55-straight seasons with an above .500 record at home.
 
RECORD BOOK: Two Hustlin' Owls have cracked the Top-75 in the OIT career record book, as Jackson Cooper ranks No. 46 in free throw attempts (249), No. 48 in blocks (23), No. 49 in both free throws made (172) and assists (190), No. 50 in rebounds (418), No. 62 in field goals made (316), No. 69 in points scored (804) and No. 75 in field goal attempts (592). Dakota Reber is No. 45 in blocks (24), No. 70 in 3-pointers made (47) and No. 72 in 3-point attempts (126), with both Jared Sucher (31 3-pointers made, 80 3-point attempts) and Grant Tull (37 3-pointers made, 89 3-point attempts) closing in on the Top-75.
 
TOPS AT THE GATE: OIT continues to lead the NAIA in attendance average, averaging 1,363 fans over the 10 home dates this season – ranking ahead of College of Idaho (1,205), Georgia Gwinnett (844), Carroll (790) and Taylor (766) – and ahead of all Oregon small college teams. In the Northwest, the Hustlin' Owls rank No. 10 among all basketball playing schools – as Boise State (9,815) leads the way, followed by Washington (6,950), Gonzaga (6,565), Oregon (5,995), Washington State (3,511), Oregon State (2,627), Seattle U (2,068), Idaho (1,893), Eastern Washington (1,784), OIT (1,363), College of Idaho (1,205), Portland (1,096), Idaho State (1,045), Northwest Nazarene (934), Western Washington (780), Portland State (741).
 
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 1,059. 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 (1,282) and UNLV (1,277) hold the current 3-point streak record, just ahead of CCC rivals Corban (1,244) and College of Idaho (1,219), along with East Tennessee State (1,209).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Hustlin' Owls return home next weekend, hosting Lewis-Clark State (Jan. 30) and Walla Walla (Jan. 31). The LC game is the third-annual K-12 Field Trip Day, as Klamath Basin kids will fill the student section for the 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. doubleheader.