7:30 p.m. Friday – Bushnell (3-7, 1-2) at SOU (4-7, 1-2)
5 p.m. Saturday – Corban (6-5, 1-2) at SOU (4-7, 1-2)
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ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon men's basketball team is back to work this weekend, hoping to salvage the last part of a five-game Cascade Conference-opening homestand.

The Raiders (4-7 overall, 1-2 CCC) will match up with two other teams armed with high expectations and attempting to amend slow starts: Bushnell (3-7, 1-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Corban (6-5, 1-2) at 5 p.m. Saturday inside Lithia Motors Pavilion. SOU had 12 days off since its last outing due to final exams and will be off for 12 more after this weekend for the holidays.

FAN POLICY: All fans 12 and older planning to attend are subject to SOU's vaccination policy, which requires proof of full vaccination against Covid-19 or a negative test taken no more than 48 hours prior to entry. Photo ID must be presented for verification. Per state mandate, non-participants will also be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.

LAST TIME OUT: The Raiders were last in action on Dec. 3-4, earning a dramatic 70-67 win over Eastern Oregon and following up with a 66-49 loss to then-No. 15 College of Idaho. Josh Meyer scored 26 points in the win, which the Raiders trailed by one when Tez Allen missed a fallaway jumper and Joe Juhala put it back with seven-tenths of a second to go. SOU was held to 31-percent shooting a night later against the Yotes and doomed by a 17-2 run leading into halftime. Meyer totaled 19 points and eight rebounds.

NAIA TOP 25: In Wednesday's latest NAIA Top 25 poll, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) moved up three spots to No. 17 and College of Idaho dropped three to No. 18. Loyola (La.) is the new No. 1 and Carroll (Mont.) sits at No. 2. The Raiders will have their first-ever CCC matchup with LC State during their next homestand on Jan. 8.

BRIEFLY:

• On the CCC leaderboard, Josh Meyer ranks fifth in both points (15.8) and rebounds (7.6). Excluding last spring, no Raider has ranked top-five in both categories since Eric Thompson in 2014-15.
• Tez Allen recorded his 300th career assist two weeks ago, becoming the ninth player in team history to hit that number. He recently also recorded his 100th steal and is only 16 rebounds away from his 500th. Among CCC players, the junior is fifth in steals (1.6), seventh in assists (3.4) and ninth in rebounds (6.7).
• At 42-of-65, Joe Juhala is 12th in the CCC in shooting percentage (56.0). He's averaged 11.4 points over nine starts.
• SOU's current shortcomings start on the offensive end: the team ranks 10th in the conference in scoring (68.8), 10th in field-goal percentage (40.9) and ninth in 3-point percentage (32.3). The Raiders have shot below 40 percent from the field four times in a five-game stretch for the first time in 11 seasons.
• The Raiders won 31 of the last 33 games in which they hit 10 or more 3-pointers. They've been held to eight or fewer makes in all but two outings this season, and their opponents are averaging just 4.8 3-point makes. (Of note: the 3-point line moved back to 22 feet 1 ¾ inches this year after sitting at 20 feet 9 inches since 2008.) SOU owns the 25th-best defensive 3-point percentage (28.3) in the NAIA.
• K'wan Carter is SOU's top bench scorer (6.9 points) and shot 7-of-12 over his last three games.

ABOUT BUSHNELL: The Beacons are nursing a four-game losing streak that has played out entirely on the road and started after a CCC-opening, last-second win at Corban. They remain dangerous offensively behind 2021 CCC Player of the Spring Stevie Schlabach, who posts 16.9 points on 49-percent accuracy, and forward Kaden Sand (12.0 points). SOU won the teams' last four matchups.

ABOUT CORBAN: The Warriors went 15-3 last spring and promptly added a few NCAA Division I transfers but have struggled to find their footing, taking their most recent loss at Multnomah. They feature three dangerous playmakers in the backcourt – Jordan Newt (12.4 points), Kendall Moore (10.8 points) and Taylor Anderson (8.1 points) – but were without Moore on their last trip. The Raiders are 4-1 against the Warriors since being swept during the 2018-19 regular season.