COMING UP: CCC Tournament quarterfinal vs. College of Idaho, Wednesday, 7 p.m.; CCC Tournament semifinal vs. Lewis-Clark State-Northwest winner (with win over C of I), Saturday, 7 p.m. (at higher seed)

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.
 
ABOUT COLLEGE OF IDAHO: Five days removed from the last meeting between the clubs, Tech hosts College of Idaho in the CCC Tournament quarterfinals. The Yotes (19-9) squad allows just 71 points a game – with the team 18-0 when allowing under 74 points a night, but 0-8 when opponents score at least 75. Guards Dougie Peoples (14.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg) and Utrillo Morris (12.6 ppg, 5.7 apg) are key for C of I - with Peoples scoring 25 in the first meeting with OIT and Morris scoring a career-high 31 in the Friday matchup -  as are forwards Rey Johnston (12.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Alex Germer (10.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg). C of I holds a 63-46 all-time series lead.
 
PLAYOFF HISTORY VS. THE YOTES: The battles between the Hustlin' Owls and Yotes over the years are epic – as 23 of the 110 all-time meetings have occurred in the postseason. In 2019, OIT topped C of I in the semifinals of the NAIA Championships, while a year later, the Coyotes returned the favor in the title game of the CCC Tournament. The most recent postseason battle was in the 2024 CCC title game, as the Owls stopped C of I in Caldwell, 79-76. The Owls are 10-12 all-time against C of I in playoff games – including a 4-6 record in Klamath Falls.
 
IF TECH WINS: A win over C of I would send the Owls into a Saturday semifinal showdown either at Lewis-Clark State or at home vs. Northwest. LC (22-6) earned the CCC's first automatic bid to the NAIA Championships and enter the tourney winning 8-of-9, behind a defense allowing just 67 points a game. The trio of John Lustig (15.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg), Dylan Skaife (11.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and Brandon Suber (10.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg) anchor the offensive attack. NU (12-16) played extremely well down the stretch, winning 6-of-8 – including a win over LC. Forwards Lucius Fox (14.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Logan Stempniak (13.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg), along with guard Christian Watkins (12.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg) power the Eagles attack.
 
TOURNAMENT BRACKET: LC State and Eastern Oregon shared the regular-season title, with LC winning a tiebreaker (more wins vs. .500-or-better teams) to claim the No. 1 seed. Southern Oregon, C of I and OIT each tied for third - with SOU earning the No. 3 seed, Tech the No. 4, and C of I the No. 5 seed due to a head to head tiebreaker. Bushnell and Corban tied for sixth - with Bushnell earning the No. 6 seed due to a head-to-head series win, while Northwest is the No. 8 seed. New for 2026, the bracket is a straight bracket, with the OIT-C of I winner meeting the LC-Northwest winner on Saturday (at the higher seed), with the EOU-Corban winner playing the SOU-Bushnell winner.
 
TOURNEY SCHEDULE: Feb. 25 – No. 8 Northwest at No. 1 LC State, No. 7 Corban at No. 2 Eastern Oregon, No. 6 Bushnell at No. 3 Southern Oregon, No. 5 College of Idaho at No. 4 OIT; Feb. 28 (Higher Seed Hosts) – LC-NU winner vs. OIT-CI winner; EOU-CRB winner vs. SOU-BU winner; March 3 – Championship at highest seed. All tournament games at 7 p.m. local time.
 
TECH EARNS HOME PLAYOFF GAME: The Owls finished in a 3-way tie for third in the CCC, placing second in a tiebreak with Southern Oregon and College of Idaho, earning the No. 4 seed into the CCC Championships and earning a home playoff game. It is the 32nd-straight postseason appearance and the 51st time OIT will appear in the playoffs. Tech is a combined 104-62 in postseason games, including a 40-25 mark in the CCC Championships – winning the tournament title in 2000, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2024. OIT holds a 46-11 all-time record in home playoff games, dating back to the 1974 NAIA District tournament. In the CCC quarterfinals, Tech is 17-4 overall.
 
20-WIN SEASONS: Tech is one win away from the 40th 20-win season in the 78-year history of the program. Head coach Justin Parnell posted seven 20-win seasons in his first nine years as head coach, looking for 20-win season No. 8.
 
TOUGH ROAD SWING: The College of Idaho-Eastern Oregon claimed another victim, as one of the toughest back-to-backs in the NAIA stung the Owls. Against C of I, the Yotes made 60% of field goals and connected on 11-of-19 3's in an 87-64 win, while at EOU, the Mounties held Tech to 2-of-18 shooting from outside and limited the Owls to a season-low 58 points.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Over the last 14 games, the Owls are 8-6 – making 50% of field goals in all eight wins, while making 46% or less of field goals in the six losses (including a combined 21-of-104 3-point percentage). Overall, Tech remains 14-0 this season when scoring at least 80 points.
 
COOPER NEARING 1,000: A monster season from Jackson Cooper moved the forward within 12 points of 1,000 for his OIT career – helped by a 24-point effort at College of Idaho. The junior added 12 rebounds at EOU, becoming the 29th player to net 500 rebounds in a career – looking to be the 17th player with 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. Cooper has cracked the Top-50 single-season book in assists, free throws made, free throw attempts and field goals made.
 
REBER NETS 20 AGAIN: Dakota Reber scored 21 points in Friday's loss at C of I – the 13th time in 2025-26 that the senior has scored 20-or-more points. It is the most 20-point games in seven seasons (Mitch Fink had 15 20-point games in 2019-20) – with Reber leading the league in conference-only games in field goal percentage (.612). He has cracked the single-season Top-50 list in blocks (22), free throws made (102) and free throw attempts.
 
MORE FROM THE TRIP: Two players tied or recorded season highs on the road swing – as Garrett Osborne tied a career-high with five rebounds at Eastern Oregon, while Colby Whicker logged season-highs with 12 points and five rebounds at EOU.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: The Hustlin' Owls lead the CCC in rebound margin (+7.3), ranking No. 2 in field goal percentage (.492) and No. 3 in scoring average (81.6), defensive field goal percentage (.428) and defensive 3-point percentage (.319). Individually, Jackson Cooper leads the CCC in assists per game (5.9), ranking No. 3 in scoring average (17.8), rebounds per game (7.6) and field goal percentage (.569), with Dakota Reber No. 5 in field goal percentage (.561), No. 6 in scoring average (17.2), No. 7 in rebounds per game (7.7), No. 8 in blocks per game (0.8) and No. 10 in free throw percentage (.773). Gylan Payne sits at No. 6 in blocks per game (1.0), No. 9 in steals per game (1.3) and No. 10 in field goal percentage (.529), Jared Sucher is No. 5 in free throw percentage (.822), with Owen Nathan No. 9 in steals per game (1.3).
 
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 809-185 overall record in the building – including an 122-25 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 11-3 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: Five Hustlin' Owls have cracked the Top-75 in the OIT career record book, as Jackson Cooper ranks No. 29 in rebounds (500), No. 30 in free throw attempts (288), No. 34 in assists (243), No. 37 in field goals made (395), No. 38 in free throws made (198), No. 40 in points scored (988), No. 47 in blocks (25) and No. 50 in field goal attempts (722). Dakota Reber is No. 33 in blocks (34), No. 64 in 3-pointers made (59) and No. 68 in 3-point attempts (158), Gylan Payne is No. 40 in blocks (28), Grant Tull is No. 71 in 3-pointers made (49) and No. 73 in 3-point attempts (126), with Jared Sucher No. 72 in 3-pointers made (46) and No. 75 in 3-point attempts (116).
 
TOPS AT THE GATE: OIT continues to lead the NAIA in attendance average, averaging 1,351 fans over the 14 home dates this season – ranking ahead of College of Idaho (1,235), Carroll (1,067), Midland (830) and Montana Tech (690) – and ahead of all Oregon small college teams.
 
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 1,069. 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 six occasions. Duke (1,291) and UNLV (1,286) hold the current 3-point streak record, just ahead of CCC rivals Corban (1,254) and College of Idaho (1,229), along with East Tennessee State (1,218).
 
UP NEXT: The Hustlin' Owls will learn whether they earn a spot in the 64-team NAIA Tournament on March 5 in a selection show set tentatively for 4 p.m.