ASHLAND – Southern Oregon looks to end a tough three-game skid this weekend as the Raider men host sixth-ranked Warner Pacific and Concordia to begin the stretch run to the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament.

Southern Oregon dropped a pair of road games to College of Idaho and No. 1 Eastern Oregon over the weekend to fall to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in conference play. The Raiders sit in the fourth spot in the conference standings with seven games remaining in the regular season. That begins Friday against Warner Pacific and Saturday against Concordia, with both games slated to start at 7:30 p.m. at Bob Riehm Arena.

“We've got our work cut out for us, but we're at home,” SOU head coach Brian McDermott said. “It's the beginning of a stretch that could be good for us. The big thing is how we play. If we play well and play hard and execute what we try to do then we feel good about our chances any night.”

The Raiders lead the conference in scoring during the CCC season, averaging 76.3 points per game. They also rank first in shooting percentage (.460), three-point percentage (.391) and assists (16.2). Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) has averaged 15.8 points per game to rank third in the conference, with Kyle Tedder (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) right behind at 14.9. David Sturner (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) has nearly averaged a double-double, putting up 12.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Jeff Bush (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) ranks second in the conference with 5.4 assists per game.

Warner Pacific comes into the game with a 9-1 conference record, 18-4 overall. The Knights have been one of the most dominant teams in CCC play, limiting teams to a league-best 60 points per game and posting a +14.5 scoring margin. The Knights' .446 shooting percentage is second to SOU in the conference, and they lead the league in shooting percentage defense, holding opponents to a .353 percentage overall and a .247 mark from beyond the three-point line.

“They're a team that's different from every other team in the league in that they commit to zone and they play zone for 40 minutes,” McDermott said of the Knights. “They've got just a nice group of players; they've got inside guys and outside guys. They've got all the pieces; they can shoot it, they can run and they can press.”

Four Warner Pacific players have averaged double-figures during the conference season, with Stephen Harris' 13.0 points per game leading the way. Harris has averaged a double-double for the Knights, leading the league with 11.0 rebounds per game. Josh Black averages 5.3 assists per game and a league-best 2.7 assist/turnover ratio, while Harris adds four. Marcus Moore's .607 three-point percentage leads the league, while Ryan Parks has made a CCC-high 34 three-pointers.

Warner Pacific has proved to be a difficult hurdle for the Raiders in the past three matchups. After the Raiders upset the Knights 81-69 in the teams' first meeting last season, SOU nearly knocked off WPC twice in Portland. The Knights earned a four-point win late in the regular season and then held off the Raiders 82-78 in overtime during the CCC Tournament. Last month, the Raiders experienced a bit of déjà vu up in Portland, as a late comeback forced overtime before the hosts prevailed 91-88.

Southern Oregon has had more success against Saturday's opponent. The Raiders have won the past three games – and five of their last six – against Concordia, including a 77-72 win last month in Portland.

The Cavaliers come into the weekend with a 10-10 overall record, and their 4-6 conference mark places them sixth in the CCC standings. Through 10 conference games, Concordia has averaged 72.6 points, while giving up 73.8 points per game. The Cavaliers boast one of the top players in the league in Adam Herman, who leads the conference in scoring (22.9) and ranks fourth in rebounding (9.6) while connecting on 59.7 percent of his shots.

“Concordia probably has the best big in the league in terms of scoring and rebounding in Adam Herman,” McDermott said. “They've got a lot of different ways to score. They shoot a high percentage and they're just a good basketball team.”

Willy Ligon joins Herman on the CCC leaderboard, averaging 14.5 points per game to rank sixth in the conference. Ligon has made 22 three-pointers in 10 conference games. Justyn Searle leads the conference with 18 blocked shots and grabs 6.8 rebounds per game to complement Herman in the post.

With five of the regular season's remaining games at home, the Raiders will look to solidify their position in among the top four in the conference to clinch a CCC Tournament home game on Feb. 20.

Another milestone the team will be aiming for is the all-time SOU coaching wins mark for McDermott. In his 17th season as SOU head coach, McDermott is three wins away from tying Ted Schopf's program record of 241 victories. McDermott entered the season with 223 wins and now sits at 238 going into the weekend.