MONTANA TECH TIP-OFF CLASSIC (All times Pacific)
2 p.m. Friday – SOU vs. Carroll (Mont.)
6 p.m. Saturday – SOU at Montana Tech
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ASHLAND – With 13 returning players and its largest senior class this decade, the pieces are in place for the Southern Oregon University men's basketball team to make a run at the last-ever NAIA Division II National Tournament if it can put them all together.

Last season, the Raiders implemented the defensive ingredients that had recently been missing, ranking ninth nationally in opponents' field-goal percentage (41.6) and sixth in blocked shots (4.2). Starting this weekend, they'll hope to bring back the efficient offensive base that was previously taken for granted.

The Raiders' up-and-down 2018-19 campaign peaked with an appearance in the Cascade Conference Tournament championship game, and most of that roster is still intact – only one newcomer will be in uniform. The lows they experienced were the product of atypical shooting woes that sunk them to No. 7 on the CCC field-goal percentage leaderboard after they'd topped if four times and finished no lower than third in six preceding seasons, and put them last in 3-point marksmanship after they hadn't been in the bottom half for 10 years.

Two four-year starters in the frontcourt, Tate Hoffman and Jordan Hunt, will be relied on to lead a return to form, as will increased production from fourth-year seniors Aaron Borich, Conor Carroll and Kerry Cook. Another boost should come from a more experienced backcourt, which will again feature Tez Allen and Teron Bradford after they broke into the starting lineup as freshmen last year.

"You never know until you play someone, but it seems like our ability to run stuff is better, our shot selection has come along and we should have a little more pop off the bench," said 24th-year head coach Brian McDermott, who enters the season four wins shy of 500. "Overall I think we're quite a bit better than we were last year at this time."

PRESEASON POLLS: The Raiders were picked to finish third in the Cascade Conference preseason poll behind two teams that were among the last standing in the country last year: Oregon Tech, which reached the national championship game, and College of Idaho, which was eliminated by OIT in the national semifinals. Like SOU, the Owls had almost no roster turnover and will start at No. 2 in the national poll. C of I is No. 3 in the preseason NAIA Top 25, while the Raiders are the CCC's only other ranked team at No. 18.

FIRST UP: The NAIA's two divisions will merge into one in 2020-21, and the Raiders will get a taste of what's to come early as they start on the road Friday against Carroll (Mont.) – which advanced to last year's NAIA Div. I championship game – and Saturday against Montana Tech, another Frontier Conference member. SOU has two ranked opponents on its non-conference slate: NAIA Div. I's No. 15 Vanguard (Calif.) on Nov. 23 and No. 4 Morningside (Iowa) on Dec. 1.

LAST SEASON: The 2018-19 Raiders went 21-11 overall, marking their sixth 20-win season in seven years, but were hindered by some disappointments at home – particularly a three-game losing streak over a five-day stretch in January. They finished sixth 9-9 before pulling off two road upsets in the CCC Tournament, ultimately going down in the title game at C of I. They graduated three seniors, including two-time all-conference performer Tristen Holmes, who was the first player in team history to record over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists.

POSITION BY POSITION:
POINT GUARDS: Senior Aaron Borich will take over for Holmes after handling backup duties the last three years. One of SOU's top 3-point threats at 39 percent as a sophomore, he struggled through the first half of last season before finishing with a flurry – hitting the buzzer-beating 3 that kept SOU's season alive in the CCC Tournament semifinals and scoring 11 in the championship. He brings 144 career assists to the season and close to a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio as he prepares to run an offense that has ranked top-10 nationally in assists six of the last seven years.

"Aaron has had a long wait and needed to hang in there to get this opportunity, but it looks like it's finally going to happen for him," McDermott said. "He had a really good spring and continued it through the fall, and he's been a great leader on the floor and is shooting it well."

Jake Virga is penciled in as the backup after appearing in 25 games as a freshman, but he'll be unavailable to start the season as he recovers from an injury. In the meantime, Tez Allen and Teron Bradford will be the other primary ball-handlers.

WINGS: As freshmen, Allen and Bradford emerged as two of SOU's most well-rounded offensive players and stuck in the starting lineup due to their perimeter defense. While posting the seventh-most points in team history for a freshman, Bradford averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists, and his ability to get to the basket showed on the CCC's free throw leaderboard. Allen played four positions, ranked second on the team in assists (3.2) and shot 41 percent from 3.

"Teron is always going to be one of the quickest guys on the floor, and he's spent some time in the gym so he's shooting it better as well as giving us the defense and rebounding that we got from him last year," McDermott said. "Tez will play all over the place for us and he's another guy who's done a lot of work on his shot, but maybe the most encouraging thing is that he's finishing better at the rim."

Senior Conor Carroll should figure heavily into the rotation after going in and out last year. The 6-foot-4 lefty is a career 41-percent shooter from 3, regularly ranking among the league leaders, and averaged over eight points off the bench through his first two seasons.

"He's gotten bigger and stronger, and I think his awareness and attention defensively has gotten better," McDermott said. "A lot of times he's probably our best scorer on the floor, so the key for him is to be good enough defensively to be able to stay in and affect the game on the offensive end."

SOU has another 3-point specialist in senior Kaj Bansen, who went 35-of-98 from deep in his first season, and is banking on a bigger role for Kerry Cook, who has earned minutes this fall in his fifth year with the team. Kiefer Edwards, a 6-6 sophomore and former state player of the year at Crater, has also shown increased comfort within the system after shooting 53 percent over 22 appearances in 2018-19.

FORWARDS: Jordan Hunt, a 6-9 senior from New Zealand, and Tate Hoffman, a 6-7 senior from West Linn, will again be depended on for scoring in rebounding inside. Hunt (13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks) earned honorable mention All-CCC recognition for the second time last year after recording five double-doubles and joining SOU's 1,000-point club. Hoffman (10.2 points, 5.7 rebounds) has done much of his scoring while stretching the floor, averaging double figures for his career and registering 10-plus on 17 occasions last season.

"We know they can rebound and score and knock down open shots as well as any post guys in the league," McDermott said. "The big thing for us is, if they can stay engaged on the other end, we have a chance to be a pretty good team defensively."

The other parts of SOU's frontcourt rotation, junior Josh Washington and sophomore Brad Allen, are also back, and the Raiders return their most physical presence in Hunter Bradford, though he'll be eased back into action after missing the last two seasons due to injury. The lone newcomer to the rotation, Jayson McMillan, should provide flexibility with the ability to guard inside and play outside after transferring from Santa Rosa Junior College.