CASCADE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
7 p.m. (MT) Tuesday - #23 SOU at #6 College of Idaho - Live Stats - Live Stream

ASHLAND – Two improbable wins got the Southern Oregon University men's basketball team out of the month of February. One more would get the 23^rd-ranked Raiders a Cascade Conference crown.

Fourth-seeded SOU (24-8 overall) will visit top-seeded and sixth-ranked College of Idaho (27-5) on Tuesday at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center for the title game of the CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Pacific Time.

The Raiders played in the title game two seasons ago at Warner Pacific and lost, 67-63, before making a run to the NAIA Sweet 16. The Coyotes, who have won 33 straight home games, won last year's championship in an 83-59 rout of sixth-seeded Northwest Christian before getting knocked out of the national tournament in the first round by the host school, College of the Ozarks.

SOU and C of I split two regular-season meetings with both teams winning at home.

Playoff picture: The Raiders were in control from start to finish of Saturday's 81-66 semifinal win at 15^th-ranked Warner Pacific, avenging two regular-season losses to the Knights, including an 80-42 debacle on Dec. 6. SOU shot 57 percent from the field, easily the highest mark against WPC's league-leading defense this season, while winning on the Knights' floor for the second time in 13 attempts since 2005. The Raiders' quarterfinal win was a 98-92, double-overtime effort against Northwest Christian, which was also 2-0 against SOU during the regular season. SOU led that one by nine with 1:28 to play in regulation, and then trailed by seven with two minutes gone in the first overtime. The Raiders shot 38-for-49 from the free-throw line, logging more makes and attempts than in any game in at least 20 seasons.

C of I started the tournament with a 71-64 victory over No. 8 seed Oregon Tech, wiping away a one-point deficit with 5:30 to play thanks to consecutive Jordan O'Byrne 3-pointers. The Yotes grabbed their first lead with 1:39 left in the first half against seventh-seeded Eastern Oregon in the semifinals, dominating the rest of the way in a 73-58 decision. Senior guard Demetrius Perkins averaged 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the wins, which saw OIT and EOU shoot a combined 31 percent.

The Yotes locked into a three-way tie for the CCC regular-season title with 10^th-ranked Concordia and WPC. They won the tiebreaker to get the No. 1 seed and an automatic spot in the 32-team NAIA Championships, which run March 11-17 in Point Lookout, Mo. A win Tuesday would give the Raiders an automatic berth in the tourney, but if they lose then the CCC's second automatic goes to Concordia for earning the No. 2 seed. In the event of a loss, SOU stands in good position to earn an at-large berth to the national tournament. (Last year the final automatic was awarded to the No. 25 team, and the year before it went to No. 26.) The bracket will be revealed Wednesday afternoon.

Head-to-head: SOU earned a 77-74 win over then-No. 2 C of I on Dec. 20 in Ashland behind Tim Weber (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg)'s 21 points, five assists and five rebounds. Ben DeSaulnier (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) added 17 points and the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:13 remaining.

On Jan. 23 in Caldwell, SOU went 8-for-16 from beyond the arc in the first half and led by as many as nine points before stumbling, 80-72. A 17-2 run gave the Coyotes a 64-53 lead that the Raiders cut down to two points with 2:57 left. C of I's Joey Nebeker hit five 3-pointers to score 19 points with 10 rebounds and counter Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg)'s 18 points and 10 boards.

SOU and C of I haven't met in the postseason since 2006, when the Yotes won a quarterfinal game in Ashland, 63-47. In 2005, The Raiders defeated C of I 50-47 in Ashland for their most recent CCC tournament championship. The Yotes lead the all-time overall series, 47-21.

SOU is 2-2 in four tournament championship appearances under Brian McDermott.

Quick hits:
- On the heels of a three-game stretch in which he averaged 9.3 points and shot 30 percent, Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) is averaging 20.4 points and shooting 54 percent in SOU's last seven outings. He's posted 19.7 points in nine career postseason appearances.
- Jordan West (Gymea Bay, Australia/Port Hacking) has scored in double figures 22 games in a row, the longest such streak in the CCC this season.
- Tim Weber (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg), who owns four of the NAIA's nine triple-doubles this season, hasn't posted fewer than six assists in 10 games. He's made or assisted 44 percent of SOU's baskets this season.
- Ben DeSaulnier (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) is 36 points away from breaking into the top five on SOU's all-time freshman scoring list. He didn't break into double figures until SOU's eighth games but has scored 10 or more in 18 of 24 since on 55-percent accuracy.
- The Raiders have shot 55 percent or better eight times this season and are No. 5 in the nation at 50.7.
- A fourth-place (or worse) team has won the CCC tournament just once in the last 17 seasons.
- One more win would tie the Raiders with the 2012-13 squad for the most in program history. Before this stretch, they'd never won 20-plus games in three straight seasons.

About College of Idaho: The Yotes have leaned on a wealth of experience – they have seven seniors, tied with WPC and Concordia for the most in the league – and solid defense to get back to the top. They rank No. 1 in the NAIA in blocks per game (5.5), No. 2 in rebounding margin (plus-10.0), No. 5 in opponents' field-goal percentage (39.8) and No. 14 in steals (8.8). Perkins, an all-conference off-guard, leads five players in double figures at 14.3 points and 5.3 boards. Senior point guard Josh Wilson (10.8 points, 3.9 assists, 7.3 rebounds) runs the show, senior wing Sydney Donaldson is the reigning CCC defensive player of the year, and Nebeker is a Boise State transfer. O'Byrne, a senior sharpshooter, has made numerous clutch shots off the bench, shooting 45 percent (78-for-153) from 3-point range.