After suffering two tough losses on the road last weekend, the Southern Oregon men's basketball team will be looking to get back to winning ways as they take on rival Oregon Tech Saturday evening.

The Raiders and Owls will tip off at 7:30 p.m. There will be no pre-sale of tickets for this game, tickets will available on a first-come, first-serve basis when doors open at 4 p.m. Saturday.

For the Raiders, Saturday's matchup with their arch-rivals is almost a must win for a team looking to turn its fortunes around. Southern Oregon (9-8 overall) is currently 1-7 in Cascade Conference play, while Oregon Tech (17-3) is 6-2 in conference play and once again near the top of the conference standings.

Southern Oregon head coach Brian McDermott knows what the key will be to beating the Owls and it will come from the defensive end.

“We have to be able to contain Parnell and Foster,” McDermott said. “They are OIT's best players and can do a lot of damage.”

Joseph Foster (18 points per game) and Justin Parnell (17) are combining for 35 points for the 2008 NAIA Division II National Champions.

While SOU will have to pay careful attention to Parnell and Foster, the Raiders will more likely be looking to play on their scoring depth.

Southern Oregon has four players scoring in double-digits on the season.

Seniors Jarrad Childs (Paso Robles, Calif./Paso Robles) (16.4), Ryan Staker (Las Vegas, Nevada/Centennial) (13), Justonn Smith (Redwood City, Calif./Woodside) (11.4) and Humphrey Jackson (Redwood City, Calif./Woodside) (10.9) lead the Raiders in scoring, while Drew Herrera (Medford, Ore./North Medford) (7.7), Roland Johnson (Yuba City, Calif./Yuba) (7.6) and David Grant (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Roosevelt) (7.1) are all just under double-digit scoring.

The Raiders also have a little momentum in the long standing series with the Owls. SOU defeated Oregon Tech last year, snapping a losing streak that dated back to the 2001-02 season.