SOU NOTES

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon men's basketball team will take a break from Cascade Collegiate Conference games this weekend for a trip to California, where the Raiders will face Holy Names and California Maritime.

Southern Oregon, 7-4 overall this season, will face Holy Names on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. before taking on California Maritime Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Raiders have outscored opponents 850-805 this season while shooting 49.8 percent from the field and connecting on 78 percent of their free throw attempts, a mark that ranks second in the NAIA. Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) is averaging 21.7 points per game to lead the team and rank fourth in the nation, and he also leads the team in rebounding with 7.8 boards per contest. Jordan Highland (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) ranks eighth in the nation with a 64.3 shooting percentage and is averaging 13.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

When the Raiders take on Holy Names, they'll be looking to avenge an 85-79 loss to the Hawks Nov. 18 at the Oregon Tech Tournament. Holy Names owns a 5-5 record this season and was named the preseason favorite for the California Pacific Conference championship after winning the title last season.

“They've been playing very good basketball,” SOU head coach Brian McDermott said of Holy Names. “They're a difficult matchup for us because they have so much quickness that it causes us some problems. We've got some size advantages on them, but their quickness really bothered us last time.”

David Scott leads the team in scoring, averaging 21 points per game while shooting 57.6 percent from the field and over 50 percent from three-point range. Karlos Grier ranks second on the team with an average of 15.3 points per game. McDermott believes the key to Saturday's game will be to limit the Hawks' quickness.

“We have to do a much better job to be able to contain them in transition and guard them in the half court instead of the full court,” McDermott said.

California Maritime is 6-6 overall this season, including an upset win over Oregon Tech on Nov. 12. The Keelhaulers lost five consecutive games before knocking off West Coast Baptist in their last contest on Dec. 3. Maritime averages 68.6 points per game while shooting 39.8 percent from the field, led by Kevin Campbell's 13.6 points per game. Isaiah Moore tallies 12.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, and Josh Greenwell adds 10.7 points per contest.

McDermott believes the atmosphere at both schools could cause problems for the Raiders, as the small gyms create a unique feel that SOU has not experienced this year.

“They get extremely loud and it feels like the court's cut quite a bit smaller,” McDermott said. “It will be a good thing for us to see how we overcome some adversity and just a different atmosphere. I think that will be a good learning experience for us.”