COMING UP: vs. Eastern Oregon, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; vs. College of Idaho, Saturday, 5 p.m.
 
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.
 
PINK OUT HISTORY: Friday marks the 16th-annual Pink Out game, with the first 1,000 fans receiving a Pink Out t-shirt, presented by Sky Lakes Cancer Treatment Center. The Pink Out serves as a breast cancer awareness event in honor of former OIT president Martha Anne Dow, who lost her own battle the disease in 2007 and promotes the Center for Health Professions on the OIT campus that bears her name. The Hustlin' Owls are 14-1 all-time in Pink Out games and will meet Eastern Oregon for the third-time, joining Bushnell and Southern Oregon as the most-common Pink Out opponents. EOU has the only win against Tech in a Pink Out game, an 87-72 win in 2023.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EASTERN OREGON: The first of two heavy hitters head to the Basin on Friday, as Eastern Oregon brings the most prolific offense in the circuit to Danny Miles Court. The Mountaineers (10-4, 5-1 CCC) average 87 points per game and lead the league by converting 39.5% of their 3-point attempts. EOU is 4-4 on the road this year – but all four losses are to quality foes (College of Idaho, Arizona Christian, Montana Tech, Benedictine Mesa). A trio of players, transfer Eamon Monaghan (18.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and returners James Bodily (15.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and Trent Rogers (13.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg) have combined to make 97 3-pointers at a 47% clip, while Multnomah transfer Keilan Torkornoo (10.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg) leads the club on the glass. It is the 194th meeting between the schools, with OIT holding a 118-75 series lead, including wins in 4-straight games.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – COLLEGE OF IDAHO: Saturday, a match-up featuring two 3-time NAIA national champs will take the court, as College of Idaho puts a 7-game regular-season win streak over OIT on the line. The Coyotes (10-4, 5-1) have won four-straight after a tough stretch that saw the squad drop games to Arizona Christian, Rocky Mountain and LC State – as C of I rides an offense averaging 85 points a game, converting nine 3-point baskets a night and making 47% of their field goals. A question is whether first-team All-American, Samaje Morgan (10.8 ppg, 3.1 apg), will see the court – as the CCC Player of the Year has played just 12 minutes since December 6. Filling the void for the Yotes have been Dougie Peoples (13.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg), Alex Germer (12.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Rey Johnston (12.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg). It is the 108th meeting between the teams, with C of I holding a 62-45 series lead.
 
LOOKING AT THE METRICS: The No. 20 ranked Hustlin' Owls enter the weekend the top CCC team in the NAIA RPI at No. 16 – ahead of No. 27 LC State, No 48 C of I and No. 53 Southern Oregon. Among the league teams, Tech is third in strength of schedule – as LC is No. 28, SOU is No. 29 and OIT is No. 34.
 
ROAD SWEEP IMPROVES TECH TO 6-0: For the first time in program history, OIT took both ends of the Walla Walla-LC State road trip, moving to 6-0 in CCC play for the fifth time. The Owls dominated WWU, 108-64, recording 28 offensive rebounds – the most by a Tech team in CCC play (No. 3 all-time), while topping LC, 70-66, for their first regular-season win in Lewiston, holding the Warriors to one made field goal over the last five minutes of the game. The Hustlin' Owls started CCC play 12-0 in 2021-22, 10-0 in 2002-03 and 2010-11, while beginning 7-0 in 2000-01.
 
DEFENSE THE KEY: The 6-0 start in CCC play has been predicated on the Owls defense, as Tech has held league opponents to 63.3 points in the six conference games. OIT has limited CCC foes to the lowest field goal percentage (.362) and 3-point percentage (.189) in league counters, with the Owls a perfect 8-0 this season with allowing 70 points or less in a game.
 
COOPER ANCHORS THE ATTACK: Headlining the weekend for the Hustlin' Owls was leading scorer, Jackson Cooper, who had back-to-back stellar games in leading Tech to the pair of victories. The forward opened the weekend scoring five points, but posted 11 assists – his second-straight double-digit assist game – joining Todd Matthews, Mitch Fink and Jamison Guerra as the only OIT players in the last 25 years to achieve the mark. Cooper followed with his third 20-point game of the year, scoring 25 points with seven rebounds in the win at LC State, including the go-ahead bucket with 1:20 left in the contest. He heads into the weekend as the only CCC player ranked in the Top-5 in the league in scoring average, rebound average and assists per game.
 
TULL HAVING BREAKOUT SEASON: The biggest surprise to OIT fans is the emergence of Grant Tull, who is averaging 13.2 points per game off the bench over the Owls last five contests, while making 41.7% of his 3-point chances on the year. Tull scored a career-high 17 points at Walla Walla, adding 12 at LC State, finishing the weekend 10-of-18 from the floor, including 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.
 
REBER STAYS STEADY: Dakota Reber extended a streak of games scoring 14-or-more points to 6-in-a-row with two quality efforts on the road. The senior had 17 points and three steals at Walla Walla, adding 14 points, five rebounds and a block at LC State. For the season, Reber leads the CCC in free throws made (63) and attempted (86), making 73.3% of his chances.
 
NATHAN KEY AT THE POINT: Freshman Owen Nathan had his best weekend of the season, recording back-to-back big nights in the two road victories. The point-guard scored eight points with a season-high six assists at Walla Walla, before scoring 10 points with six rebounds, adding three blocks and three steals in 36 minutes of action at LC State. Between the two wins, Nathan converted 8-of-11 free throws.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Tech got key contributions up and down their roster in the road sweep – as James Kefgen and Sean Chris Tresvant had career-highs, Jared Sucher continued his strong play and Garrett Osborne had stellar all-around play. Kefgen scored 10 and Tresvant tallied seven in the win at Walla Walla, while Sucher scored 16 points – the sixth time the sophomore has scored 16-or-more points this year. Osborne scored eight points with five rebounds, while keying the defensive effort in the win at LC.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Three teams started 2026 with 2-0 marks – as C of I posted home wins over Eastern and Warner Pacific, Bushnell won home games over Northwest and Evergreen, with Tech claiming road wins at LC State and Walla Walla. In addition, Evergreen won their first game, an overtime decision at Corban, while Northwest defeated ESC in a travel partner game for their first CCC victory. This week, NU and ESC host Warner Pacific, LC and WWU head to Corban and Bushnell, while EOU and C of I are off to OIT and Southern.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, OIT leads the Cascade Conference in field goal percentage (.486), rebound margin (+9.6) and defensive 3-point percentage (.279), ranking No. 2 in assists per game (15.2) and No. 3 in scoring average (83.6) and defensive field goal percentage (.425). Individually, Jackson Cooper leads the CCC in assists per game (5.7), ranking No. 4 in scoring average (16.9), No. 5 in rebounds per game (6.9) and No. 6 in field goal percentage (.563). Gylan Payne is No. 4 in steals per game (1.5), No. 9 in rebounds per game (6.4) and blocks per game (0.9), ranking No. 10 in field goal percentage (.521); Jared Sucher is No. 5 in 3-point percentage (.469) and No. 7 in free throw percentage (.839); with Dakota Reber No. 6 in scoring average (16.1) and No. 7 in rebounds per game (6.5).
 
RECORD BOOK: Two Hustlin' Owls have cracked the Top-75 in the OIT career record book, as Jackson Cooper ranks No. 49 in blocks (22), No. 59 in free throw attempts (226), No. 62 in free throws made (153) and rebounds (385), No. 63 in assists (159), ranking No. 73 in field goals made (286), while sitting just outside the mark in points scored (725) and field goal attempts (532). Dakota Reber is No. 49 in blocks (22) and just outside the list in 3-pointers made (37) and attempted (106), with both Jared Sucher (31 3-pointers made, 69 3-point attempts) and Grant Tull (28 3-pointers made, 69 3-point attempts) closing in on the Top-75.
 
HOME SWEET HOME:  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 805-183 overall record in the building – including an 118-23 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). The Owls are 7-1 at home this season, looking to extend a 54-year streak of winning seasons on their home floor – the longest streak in NAIA history.
 
TOPS AT THE GATE: OIT currently leads the NAIA in men's basketball attendance, averging per game (1,258). College of Idaho (1,143), Georgia Gwinnett (946), Taylor (795) and Carroll (794) round out the Top-5. The Hustlin' Owls rank No. 3 among all Oregon schools – trailing only Oregon (5,645) and Oregon State (2,564), ranking ahead of Portland (1,024), Portland State (591), along with Southern Oregon (325), Pacific (259) and Western Oregon (131).
 
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 1,057. 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 (1,279) and UNLV (1,274) hold the current 3-point streak record, just ahead of CCC rivals Corban (1,240) and College of Idaho (1,215), along with East Tennessee State (1,205).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Owls hit the road for the next two weeks, starting a 4-game road trip on Tuesday night, traveling to Ashland for a 7:30 p.m. match-up at Southern Oregon.