CASCADE CONFERENCE STATS/STANDINGS

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon University men's basketball team has a few reasons to be anxious about getting back on the floor this weekend.

The first would be payback. The Raiders (18-5 overall, 7-4 Cascade Conference) will go for a season sweep of the Corban Warriors (6-14, 2-8) on Friday in Salem, but on Saturday in Eugene will get another crack at the Northwest Christian Beacons (12-9, 6-5), who stole a 75-71 win from Ashland on Jan. 3. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m., and live stats and video streams can be accessed by following the links provided at the SOU schedule page.

A second reason would be frustration. The Raiders let a 109-100 loss to College of Idaho get away in double-overtime last Friday before Saturday's 80-65 victory over Eastern Oregon, and consequently dropped five spots in the NAIA rankings to No. 14 and two games out of first place behind the Coyotes.

And third, with the second- and sixth-place teams in the conference separated by two games, there is little breathing room in the conference standings. SOU will play five of its final seven in the regular season on the road, too.

Corban is just ½ game behind Eastern Oregon for the eighth and final playing spot, and the Warriors' deliberate offensive style and steadfast zone defense make them a tricky matchup for anyone despite their current eight-game losing streak. On Jan. 4 in Ashland, the Raiders secured an 84-64 victory but led the Warriors by just four with 11 minutes left. Just two weeks ago at College of Idaho, the Warriors led by three with three minutes left but failed to pull off the upset.

Corban, which features seven freshmen of 12 active players on its roster, is last in the league in scoring and rebounding margin. Junior guard Jordan Carter is scoring 16.4 points in CCC play and sophomore post Cyrus Ward is adding 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds.

The Raiders have won five of their last six against Corban.

When SOU last saw Northwest Christian, the Beacons were alone in first place and point guard Javonte Byrd couldn't miss. They've lost five of seven since a 4-0 start, however, and Byrd – who lit up the Raiders for 35 points on 9-for-12 3-point shooting – is 6-for-34 from outside against every CCC team other than SOU.

Still, all but two of the Beacons' losses have been in single digits, and in their last two they've held halftime leads against Northwest and College of Idaho. Four of their starters, all first-year transfers, are scoring in double figures in conference play: Spencer Coleman (15.5 points), Coleton Baker (15.5), Austin Kuemper (15.1) and Byrd (12.8).

The Raiders have won five of seven against NCU but needed overtime to leave Eugene with wins the last two seasons.

More notes on SOU:

• A weekend sweep would give the Raiders consecutive 20-plus win seasons for the fourth time in school history. They last did it in 2004-05 and '05-06.

• With 14 assists Friday, Jeff Bush (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) matched the third-highest single-game total in SOU history. He leads the NAIA at 7.0 per game and has already matched his total from last year (161) in 10 less games. If he keeps up his current pace, he'll break Stacy Hillard's SOU season record of 200, established in 1991, with one game to spare in the regular season.

• Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) needs 12 points to tie Tom Chipps in second place on SOU's all-time scoring list at 1,648. He's averaging 20.5 in conference games, good for second in the league behind Concordia's Adam Herman (24.7).

• David Sturner (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) came alive last weekend with two double-doubles on averages of 17.5 points and 13 rebounds. He has 13 double-doubles this season, ranking fourth in the NAIA in offensive rebounds per game (3.7) and sixth in total rebounds (10.1).

• SOU's bench is contributing 24 points per game in the last three after posting 11.8 in the previous six. Dex Daum (Fallon, Nev./Churchill)'s 12 points per game and Jordan West (Gymea Bay, Australia/Port Hacking)'s 9.9 are mostly responsible.

• Two common denominators in SOU's four conference losses: too many turnovers and not enough free throws. SOU has committed more turnovers than its opponents in every loss while averaging 14 free-throw attempts, while in seven wins the Raiders average 24 free-throw attempts. Against C of I, All-American big men Thompson and Sturner put up 38 shots and one free throw, and in 10 other CCC games the Raiders' ratio is about 3-to-1.