2 p.m. Friday – Walla Walla (2-12, 1-6) at SOU (7-8, 4-3)
5 p.m. Saturday – Lewis-Clark State (13-2, 6-1) at SOU (7-8, 4-3)
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ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon men's basketball team is back home with a chance to prolong its winning streak against two teams at opposite ends of the Cascade Conference standings.

Winners of three straight, the Raiders (7-8 overall, 4-3 CCC) will host last-place Walla Walla (Wash.) (2-12, 1-6) at 2 p.m. Friday and No. 17-ranked Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (13-2, 6-1) at 5 p.m. Saturday inside Lithia Motors Pavilion. COVID-19 issues had the Wolves' roster down to five players in their latest outing Tuesday against Warner Pacific. The Warriors will be meeting the Raiders in CCC play for the first time and represent an opportunity for them to get their first win against a team in the top half of the standings.

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.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: Southern Oregon's CCC game scheduled for Jan. 15 at Warner Pacific has been canceled as WPU announced a two-week shutdown of all athletics activities Thursday due to a significant increase of COVID-19 cases. Per conference policy, the Raiders will be awarded a forfeit victory the day of the game as long as they have enough individuals cleared to compete.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: SOU's first weekend sweep played out in Washington, starting with a breakout performance offensively in Saturday's 103-65 win at Evergreen (Wash.). There, the Raiders shot 65 percent from the field – their top mark since shooting 73 percent against the Geoducks in 2015 – and Tez Allen (30 points) and K'wan Carter (19 points) went for season-high point totals while combining to go 21-of-28. On Sunday at Northwest (Wash.), the Raiders erased a nine-point deficit over the final 12 minutes and won 72-69 behind Atmar Mundu's 19 points. Allen scored the final seven points of the game for SOU, which took the lead for good with eight minutes left.

BRIEFLY:

• It's no coincidence that the Raiders' winning streak has coincided with Tez Allen's best three-game stretch of the season. The CCC all-star averaged 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 58 percent in the triumphs. In SOU's 12 previous games, he posted 8.2 points per and shot 30 percent.
• Another major factor has been the emergence of Atmar Mundu. Over SOU's last four games – which included his first three starts – the junior transfer averaged 18 points on 23-of-33 shooting from the field and 8-of-14 from 3. Prior to that stretch he was averaging 4.6 points on 37-percent shooting and had only scored in double figures once.
• As a team, the Raiders are at 56 percent from the field in their last three games combined. They'd shot better than 45 percent just twice in their previous 12.
• K'wan Carter took advantage of his first starts of the season, made possible by freshman post Joe Juhala's absence. He logged 28 points on the road trip and stands at 7.8 per game.
• On the CCC leaderboard, Josh Meyer is No. 8 in points (15.8), No. 5 in rebounds (8.2) and No. 13 in assists (2.9). He recorded seven assists in the first half at Evergreen and has now scored in double figures 13 times.

ABOUT WALLA WALLA: The Wolves feature two of the CCC's top statistical performers in KiAndre Gaddy (17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds) and Zayne Browning (16.4 points, 6.3 rebounds). The pair pushed them to a quality win last week over Multnomah before COVID-19 protocols took out Gaddy and a handful of others who are hopeful to return Friday. Browning has scored 20 or more points in five of his last six games for the Wolves. They're 1-10 all-time against SOU.

ABOUT LC STATE: Previously members of the Frontier Conference, the Warriors have been among the NAIA's best with a combined record of 94-14 since the start of the 2018-19 season, when they reached the national semifinals. They advanced to the NAIA national championship game last spring but graduated a handful of All-Americans, and their young roster has gone largely untested to this point. Their opponents' field-goal percentage of 40.5 during conference play tops the CCC, and four individuals are scoring in double figures: Kevin Baker (16.1), Khalil Stevenson (11.1), Nathan Fromm (10.4) and Oreon Courtney (10.1). Last week they had to rally to beat Multnomah in overtime at home, and prior to that game they took their first CCC loss at College of Idaho by 14. SOU is 1-4 against the Warriors and last played them in 2012.