Friday, 7:30 p.m. - Corban at #12 SOU - Live Stats - Live Video
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. - Northwest Christian at #12 SOU - Live Stats - Live Video

ASHLAND – The Corban and Northwest Christian men's basketball teams were as involved as anyone during 12th-ranked Southern Oregon's string of close calls early on in the Cascade Conference slate.

The Raiders (18-4 overall, 8-3 CCC) will take wins however they can get them when the Warriors (11-9, 4-7) and Beacons (14-6, 7-4) visit Riehm Arena for two 7:30 p.m. matchups on Friday and Saturday.

Back in the first weekend of January, Northwest Christian tipped SOU on Jack Hackman's putback at the buzzer for a 66-64 win. The next night, SOU had to overcome a 15-point deficit in the second half to leave Corban with a 69-66 escape job.

NCU is the only team in the conference the Raiders have failed to defeat since the beginning of last season. Six of the last eight games the teams have played either went to overtime or were decided by four points or less in regulation – one of the exceptions being the Beacons' 86-74 win in Ashland last year that ended SOU's season in the CCC tournament.

"Corban gave us all we could handle at their place and they're a team that, if they shoot it well, can be right with you," SOU coach Brian McDermott said. "And NCU just has a lot of players. They're trying to get the right combinations figured out, but they're as talented as anyone."

SOU nearly ended third-ranked College of Idaho's two-year unbeaten streak at home last Friday, cutting a 12-point Coyote lead to two with three minutes left, but fell 80-72. On Saturday the Raiders grinded out a 75-56 win at Eastern Oregon, shooting above 55 percent for the fourth time in five games. The split cost them a two-spot dip in this week's NAIA Division II rankings.

"We played really well except for about six minutes of the 80," McDermott said. "We've been pretty good the last three or four weeks. We just need to continue to run our stuff and get better at it, and hope the home court makes a little difference."

The old guard (and the really old post): Of the CCC's top-30 scorers, 16 are seniors. Of those 16, only four started their collegiate careers with their current teams. SOU's Tim Weber (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) and Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) are two of them – Corban's Jordan Carter and Warner Pacific's Doug Thomas are the others – and at 82 wins already with the Raiders, three more would make them responsible for the winningest four-year stretch in program history. Thompson scored his 15th 20-point game of the season at EOU and now ranks 16th in the NAIA in points per game (20.6) and fifth in 3-point percentage (50.8).  Weber is first in the NAIA in assists (7.5), and in CCC play ranks 15th in points (13.4), 19th in rebounding (5.3), seventh in blocks (0.9) and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0).

Quick hits:

- SOU is shooting a league-best 53 percent in conference play and features four of the CCC's top-14 in individual percentage: Jordan West (Gymea Bay, Australia/Port Hacking) (61.3), Joel Spear (Adelaide, Australia/St. Michaels) (59.4), Weber (56.4) and Ben DeSaulnier (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) (55.9). In his last six games, Thompson is at 57.1 percent (44-for-77). SOU has eclipsed 50 percent as a team 15 times this season while allowing opponents to do it three times.

- SOU has committed 12 turnovers or less in eight of its last nine games after turning it over 12 or more times in nine of their first 13.

- DeSaulnier has hit at least one 3-pointer in 10 straight games, going 16-for-32 in that span. He's been in double figures in nine of SOU's last 10, averaging 11.5 in league play.

- A few individuals have helped the Raiders raise their free-throw percentage (70.1) to the second-best in the CCC: Weber has made 12 straight, Thompson has made 16 of 18, and DeSaulnier had made 33 of 34 before missing a couple at EOU. 

- Justin Martin (Central Point, Ore./Crater) had only played more than seven minutes once until making two starts and averaging 26 minutes last weekend. He went 4-for-10 from downtown and is now 33-for-73 (45 percent) in his two-year career. Ninety-two percent of his total shots have been from outside.

- Spear ranks 12th in the CCC in assists (3.3) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6).

About Corban: Sophomore post Cyrus Ward (15.8 points, 9.2 rebounds) put up 49 points last weekend as the Warriors ended a six-game losing streak with wins against Northwest (71-60) and Evergreen (74-70). Ten 3-pointers helped the Warriors control SOU for 30 minutes, including four by Raider-killer Jordan Carter (14.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists). In seven career games against SOU, Carter has posted 21 per contest on 54-percent accuracy.

"We need to guard them much better," McDermott said. "We let a few guys get away from us at their place and it became infectious."

SOU has won five straight against the Warriors and trails the all-time series, 41-38.

About Northwest Christian: Prior to defeating Evergreen (86-68) and Northwest (86-74) last weekend, the Warriors had been narrowly victimized in three of four games by the three teams joining SOU atop the standings – third-ranked C of I, 10th-ranked Concordia and 20th-ranked Warner Pacific – to fall out of the rankings. They feature two players who especially enjoy seeing the Raiders: Austin Kuemper, who had 25 in the first meeting and is averaging 19.2 and eight rebounds against SOU the last two years; and Javonte Byrd, who went 12-for-15 from outside and averaged 26 in two games at Riehm Arena last season. Ten different players have received starts from second-year coach Luke Jackson. Six have launched at least 40 3-pointers, contributing to a team 3-point percentage of 40.1 that ranks seventh in the NAIA. The Beacons also grabbed 19 offensive rebounds in the last meeting, and that's an area where SOU has been vulnerable: The Raiders allowed 31 offensive rebounds last weekend, a byproduct of playing zone defense exclusively.

"They have some of the best posts in the league, so we really need to rebound it," McDermott said. "But they have shooters, too, so a big challenge will be how much we can help down without giving up too many open looks."

Northwest Christian leads the all-time series, 25-19.