SOU NOTES

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon men's basketball team will look to sweep the season series against No. 8 Warner Pacific and Concordia as the Raiders travel to Portland for a pair of Cascade Collegiate Conference games this weekend.

Southern Oregon, 14-8 overall and 7-4 in conference play, will face the Knights on Friday and the Cavaliers on Saturday. The Raiders enter the weekend ranked fourth in the CCC standings.

Warner Pacific is ranked eighth in the latest NAIA poll and ranks second in the CCC standings with a 9-1 record, 17-4 overall. The Knights are fourth in the conference in scoring (80.8 points per game), and their +13.0 scoring margin ranks third. They lead the NAIA in assists (18.29 per game) and steals (11.62), and they rank first in the CCC in blocks (3.86) and second in turnover margin (+4.81) and field goal percentage defense (.405).

William Sharp leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per game, with Sean Gaines right behind at 11.7. Stephen Harris ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding (7.6 per game), while Sharp leads the league in assists (5.05) and ranks second in steals (2.5). The Knights have won 10 of their past 11 games, including their last five since an 81-69 loss to Southern Oregon in Ashland on Dec. 30.

“They're the one team in the league that will play zone the entire game, and they're very good at it,” SOU head coach Brian McDermott said of Warner Pacific. “They fly around; they get their hands on a lot of balls and it's very good for them in terms of getting them into their transition game. They've been playing very consistently. They've won close games and they've won different ways, so they're a big challenge for us.”

Southern Oregon has faced Warner Pacific 50 times since the teams first met during the 1968-69 season. The Raiders have a 23-27 record against the Knights, but Warner Pacific has won 12 of the past 14 meetings. Last season, SOU snapped an 11-loss streak to the Knights with a 77-46 road victory, with WPC picking up a 68-65 win in Ashland. The Raiders took this season's first meeting between the teams, 81-69 over the then-17th-ranked Knights in Ashland last month to hand WPC its only conference loss of the season to this point.

Concordia ranks sixth in the CCC standings with a 4-6 record, 12-9 overall. The Cavaliers rank second in the conference in scoring with an average of 84.5 points per game, and their +10.0 scoring margin ranks fifth. Their 52.8 team field goal percentage leads the CCC and ranks second in the nation, while their 38.7 three-point percentage ranks second in the conference. The Cavs limit opponents to a league-best 30.1 shooting percentage from beyond the arc, and their +7.8 rebounding margin ranks third in the conference.

Adam Herman's 70.4 shooting percentage leads the nation, while his 20.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game both lead the conference. Kevan West (14.1) and Jourdan Sweeney (13.9) rank 11th and 12th in scoring, and Sweeney's 6.8 rebounds per game ranks 10th. Gage Aker ranks fifth in assists per game with an average of 4.33 per contest, and Drew Preuninger has made a league-high 57 three-pointers. Concordia has won four of its last six games, with an 90-89 overtime loss to No. 8 Warner Pacific in its last contest.

“They're a very good basketball team,” McDermott said of the Cavaliers. “Just a really good offensive basketball team, so we'll have our work cut out there trying to get them stopped.”

Southern Oregon has faced Concordia 51 times in a series that stretches back to the 1979-80 season. The Raiders own a 27-24 all-time record against the Cavaliers, including an 11-5 record in the last 16 meetings. The teams split last season, with the Raiders winning 85-79 in Portland and the Cavaliers winning 85-74 in Ashland. The Raiders won the team's first meeting this season, defeating Concordia 80-77 last month in Ashland.

“We're feeling good about where we're at right now,” McDermott said. “It's time to make a little push here and go ahead and get some wins on the road right now. This is a trip that traditionally we've played pretty well. They're good atmospheres, but our guys have always gone in there and played well.”

Southern Oregon averages 74.9 points per game with an average scoring margin of +2.7. The Raiders rank third in the CCC and 15th in the NAIA in free throw percentage (.733), and SOU's .464 field goal percentage ranks fifth in the conference.

Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) is averaging 20.1 points per game to rank second in the CCC and 14th in the nation, and he also ranks second in the league in rebounding, averaging 7.9 boards per game, and third in free throw percentage (.835). Jordan Highland (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) ranks ninth in the CCC with a 56.1 shooting percentage (92-of-164) and is averaging 11.9 points per game, while Terriel Thomas (Boise, Idaho/Borah) ranks ninth in the conference in rebounding (6.8).