ASHLAND – If the Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho men's basketball teams have statements to make, No. 2 Southern Oregon will be providing a good-sized platform in Cascade Conference play this weekend.

The Mountaineers (9-2 overall, 1-1 CCC) and Coyotes (10-4, 1-1) are next in line to stop SOU's win streak, which stands at 10 games after a 93-92 win over No. 23 Cal Maritime last Saturday. The second-ranked Raiders (12-1, 2-0) will be in La Grande for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff Friday, and Saturday's game in Caldwell, Idaho, will get underway at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

SOU, which started its conference schedule with home wins against Concordia and Warner Pacific on Dec. 6-7, is 1-13 on this trip during the regular season since sweeping it in 2005-06.

The opponents are as formidable as usual under a couple of first-year coaches, too. Jared Barrett leads EOU, his alma mater, after stints as a director of basketball operations at Washington State and as an assistant at Southern Utah, and Scott Garson is C of I's head man following seven years as an assistant under Ben Howland at UCLA.

"We have some pretty different challenges coming up here," Raiders head coach Brian McDermott said. "Eastern is one of the better defensive and rebounding teams in the league; that game will be physical in a different way than we've experienced. And I think C of I probably has the best team speed of anyone we'll play, and they can shoot it."

When the Raiders last visited EOU, they sealed a trip to the national tournament with an 89-71 win in the conference tournament semifinals.

With four new starters, this Mountaineer team is drastically different. Their scoring threats are fewer in number, but their field-goal percentage defense (36.4) is the lowest in the conference and they're pulling down a league-best 14.5 more rebounds than their opponents.

Tony Eackles Jr., a 6-foot-3 senior wing, is fourth in the CCC in scoring at 20.4 points per game and Craig Tucker is putting up 11.7. Inside, Kylllian Wood averages 8.5 points and 10.3 rebounds and Kalvin Johanson leads the conference with 2.7 blocks per contest.

They'll be tasked with slowing down an SOU squad that averages 89.3 points and shoots 52.6 percent from the field, ranking first in the country in assists per game (23.7) and fifth in 3-pointers made (10.2).

Saturday's game, in contrast, could be a more straightforward track meet.  The Coyotes have surpassed the 90-point mark in 11 of their 14 games and average 90.8. Eight different players contribute at least six points per game, led by 6-7 senior forward Taylor Pruett's 15.4 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Also in double figures are Jordan O'Byrne (13.8 PPG), Demetrius Perkins (12.7) and Sydney Donaldson (10.7), while guard Josh Wilson averages 7.1 points but registered a triple-double against Evergreen State. Antonio Garrett, a senior forward, averages 18.1 points and owns a 72.2-percent mark from the field but has missed C of I's last seven games due to injury.

College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon both beat up on Evergreen but lost squeakers at Northwest in the opening weekend of CCC play. The loss dropped the Coyotes out of the NAIA rankings from No. 20.

SOU's David Sturner (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) is the reigning CCC player of the week after he dropped 24 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and three steals on Maritime. He's averaging 16.8 points and 10.6 rebounds; Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) is averaging 23.4 points and 8.4 rebounds over his last five games; and Kyle Tedder (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) is at 16.0 points on 21-of-37 shooting in his last four.

Jeff Bush (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) still leads the NAIA in assists per game (7.4) and Tim Weber (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg)'s 17 assists are the most in CCC play.

"I think we're making progress, and we're getting closer to being able to use our full playbook, which has taken a little while," McDermott said. "So long as we continue to accomplish our No. 1 goal – to be considered one of the most unselfish teams in the country – we'll be able to challenge anyone."

The Raiders defeated C of I and Eastern Oregon at home in this same weekend a year ago.