ASHLAND – For the first time since 2006, the Southern Oregon men's basketball team gets to stay at home during the short week leading into the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament as the 21st-ranked Raiders will host Concordia in a tournament quarterfinal contest on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Southern Oregon clinched the tournament's third seed with its fifth and sixth consecutive wins over the weekend, closing out the regular season by knocking off Corban and Northwest Christian at home. The Raiders go into the postseason with a 22-8 overall record, 13-5 in conference play.

“We're excited about the opportunity to get a home game,” SOU head coach Brian McDermott said.”

Since Wednesday's game is an official Cascade Conference Tournament event, SOU passes and season tickets will not be accepted for admission. Game tickets are available for pre-sale in the SOU athletics office and will also be available for purchase at the door. Prices will be $9 for reserved seats with seat backs, $6 for general admission and $5 for seniors and children 12 and under. Fans are also asked to wear red for the game on Wednesday.

Any fans who live in southern Oregon or northern California and are unable to make it to Bob Riehm Arena for the game can view the broadcast on KDRV NewsWatch 12+ available over the air on channel 12.2, Charter Cable channel 291, Ashland TV channel 12.2 and Northland Cable System channel 137. Live stats and video will also be available through the SOU Athletics website.

Southern Oregon split the regular-season series with Concordia, which finished the season in the conference's sixth spot with a 9-9 record, 15-13 overall. The Raiders beat the Cavaliers 77-72 in Portland on Dec. 21, but the Cavs returned the favor with an 83-75 win over SOU in Ashland on Jan. 26. That was the Raiders' most recent loss, as they have gone on to win their past six games by an average of almost 14 points.

“Obviously they beat us down here,” McDermott said. “So we have a little something there, a little payback that we'd like to get to.”

During SOU's six-game win streak, the Raiders have connected on 54.1 percent of their shots (170-of-314) – including 42.7 percent (53-of-124) from three-point range – while limiting opponents to 36.9 percent shooting (143-of-388). They have also out-rebounded opponents by an average of 6.5 per game and out-blocked opponents 18-to-3 during that stretch.

“That's shooting the ball really well, and it's going to that kind of play in the playoffs,” McDermott said of the Raiders' hot streak. “Hopefully we can continue that. That has gotten because we've gotten better offensively at sharing the ball. Our movement's been better and the end result is better shots, which ends up with a better field goal percentage.”

Southern Oregon finished the regular season as the top-scoring team in the CCC, averaging 77.2 points per game. The Raiders also led the league in shooting percentage (.481), three-point percentage (.407), assists (17.3) and three-point defense (.283) while ranking second in opponent shooting (.394) and rebounding (38.6). Kyle Tedder (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) averaged 15.7 points per game to rank fourth in the conference, followed by Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) at 14.4 and David Sturner (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) at 12.8.

Sturner was one of two CCC players to average a double-double during conference play, tallying 10.4 rebounds per contest while shooting 50.6 percent. Jeff Bush (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) led the conference in assists (5.2) and assist/turnover ratio (2.3), while Tedder's .449 three-point percentage and 61 made three-pointers both led the CCC.

“We like our team, we like the way we're playing right now,” McDermott said. “We're getting a little bit better defensively. I think we're miles ahead of where we were offensively just a month ago.”

Concordia averaged 71.8 points per game and ranked in the middle of the CCC in almost every team statistical category. Adam Herman won the league scoring title by almost three points per game, averaging 21.2 points per contest while ranking third in rebounding (9.4), shooting percentage (.584) and free throw percentage (.810).

They're a very good team and they've got a lot of weapons,” McDermott said. “They've got one of the best, if not the best, player in the league in Adam Herman. For three years he's just been about as efficient a player as you can get. He's a tough, tough matchup, not just for us but for anyone in the league.”

Willy Ligon joins Herman as one of the top scorers in the league, ranking sixth with an average of 15.4 points per game and totaling 42 made three-pointers. Justyn Searle led the conference with 32 blocked shots and averaged 6.4 rebounds per game.

“They've got a lot of players,” McDermott said. “They're a very good basketball team, and we'll have to be at our best.”