CCC CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY U.S. BANK
TUESDAY – QUARTERFINALS
6:30 p.m. – (8) Bushnell at (1) College of Idaho
7:30 p.m. – (7) Oregon Tech at (2) Eastern Oregon
7:30 p.m. – (6) Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at (3) Southern Oregon
7:30 p.m. – (5) Corban at (4) Warner Pacific
FRIDAY – SEMIFINALS
7:30 p.m. – Lowest Remaining Seed at Highest Remaining Seed
7:30 p.m. – Other Quarterfinal Winners (at higher seed)
FEB. 27 – CHAMPIONSHIP
7:30 p.m. – Lowest Remaining Seed at Highest Remaining Seed

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NOTE: Regular season ticket passes are not valid for CCC Tournament games.

ASHLAND – Southern Oregon has played its best basketball of the season over the last month to insert itself into the national tournament conversation. As the No. 3 seed in the Cascade Conference Championships presented by U.S. Bank, the Raiders have a chance to solidify their case.

Standing at 19-9 overall, they'll host No. 6 seed Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (14-14) in the quarterfinal round at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday inside Lithia Motors Pavilion. The Raiders won seven of their last eight regular-season games to finish 15-7 in the CCC and in a three-way tie for third place, collecting those victories down the stretch by an average of 23 points. LCSC, which went 11-11 in the circuit, was one of their final victims in an 84-50 decision on Feb. 10 in Ashland. That was a one-point game at halftime, however, and the Warriors also played close in an 85-81 SOU win on Jan. 14 in Lewiston. They're attempting to keep alive a streak of eight consecutive national tournament appearances.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: All four quarterfinal games will tip off Tuesday night, the two highest remaining seeds will host Friday's semifinals, and the championship game is set for Feb. 27. The tournament is not bracketed, meaning the highest remaining seed will face the lowest remaining seed in the semis. Top-ranked College of Idaho – which, excluding the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign, has captured the last four tournament titles – went 22-0 in CCC regular-season play to claim the No. 1 seed and the conference's first automatic bid for the NAIA National Tournament. The second automatic bid will be awarded to the tournament champion, unless C of I wins it, in which case it will go to No. 2 seed Eastern Oregon. The 64-team national tournament field, including at-large selections, will be revealed at 5 p.m. Pacific Time on March 2.

SOU won the tiebreaker for the No. 3 seed based on its 3-1 combined record against Corban and Warner Pacific, the other teams tied for third place; WPU went 2-2 in those head-to-head matchups to take the No. 4 seed and Corban went 1-3 to drop to No. 5. A couple of CCC Tournament wins could separate the Raiders from their pack in their case for an at-large bid. The CCC produced one at-large qualifier last year: third-place LCSC, which got in with 22 total victories and a 14-8 conference record despite being eliminated in the CCC semifinals.

SOU vs. LCSC: The Raiders and Warriors are meeting in the playoffs for the second year in a row. Last season, as the No. 5 seed, SOU was a 67-66 upset winner at LCSC when Tez Allen banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Raiders are 5-5 all-time against LCSC and 4-1 since the Warriors joined the conference in 2020, including a COVID-19 forfeit victory last season. SOU swept the 2022-23 regular-season series: On Jan. 14, Atmar Mundu and Josh Meyer combined for 53 points, including 36 in the second half to steal and 85-81 road win; and on Feb. 10, the Raiders outscored LCSC 52-19 in the second half to win 84-50 behind Dominic McGarvey's 17 points and nine rebounds. One major key to SOU's success was holding Warriors leading scorer Davian Brown to an average of eight points on 6-of-23 combined shooting in the matchups.

SOU TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Raiders are in the CCC Tournament for the 12th consecutive postseason. They've won six of their last seven quarterfinal games, including all four at home. Last year they advanced to the championship for the fourth time since 2013; only one team, College of Idaho, has made more appearances in the title game in that span. The Raiders have captured two CCC Tournament titles, in 1999 and 2005. Last year they fell at College of Idaho in the final – the site of their last three championship losses – after winning at Corban in the quarterfinals and at LCSC in the semis.

BRIEFLY:

• As the only remaining player who was active during SOU's 2019-20 run to the national tournament, Tez Allen has as much playoff experience as anyone in the conference. The senior will be appearing in his 10th career postseason contest against the Warriors after shining on the stage last year. His buzzer-beater in the semis at LCSC to cap a 15-point, nine rebound effort was preceded by his 18-point performance in the quarters at Corban, where he scored buckets on four straight possessions in the final minutes to close out a 67-65 win. Allen is averaging 9.9 points, 3.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds on the season, ranking among the CCC's top-10 in assists for the fourth season in a row. On SOU's career lists, he sits at No. 1 in steals (164), No. 3 in assists (484), No. 10 in rebounds (730) and No. 20 in points (1,169).
• Atmar Mundu averaged 13 points and five rebounds in last year's CCC Tournament. The senior guard has been the circuit's hottest scorer of late, posting 16 points per game on clips of 66 percent from the field (43-of-65) and 56 percent from 3 (20-of-36) over his last seven outings. He finished the regular season averaging 16.9 points, good for No. 4 in the CCC, and has scored 10-plus in 33 straight games – the longest such streak for a Raider since Shea Washington, the 2005-06 NAIA Player of the Year, did so in 44 straight.
• Dominic McGarvey hit double-figure scoring six times during the second half of the CCC schedule – including four of his last five games – after doing so twice in the first half. In conference play he ranked third in blocked shots (1.4), 10th in field-goal percentage (52.3) and 13th in rebounds (6.0).
• At 4.1 assists per game, Josh Meyer ranked fourth among CCC players in conference play and was the only non-guard among the top-15. The senior has averaged 13.1 points in 70 outings for the Raiders and is up to 1,515 points and 859 rebounds in his collegiate career.
• Will Graves has averaged 15.4 points in 14 home games, notching all five of his 20-point efforts in Ashland.
• The Raiders went 14-0 in conference games decided by at least nine points and 1-7 in games decided by fewer than nine. On the NAIA leaderboard, they're 22nd out of 234 NAIA teams in offensive efficiency at 112.1 points per 100 possessions and 34th in net efficiency, outscoring opponents by 14.7 points per 100 possessions. The latter mark could factor into their at-large candidacy.
• The Raiders are 45-16 at Lithia Motors Pavilion since moving in for the 2018-19 season.

ABOUT LCSC: Despite their .500 record, the Warriors have proven up to the task against the CCC's best over the last month – scoring wins at second-place Eastern Oregon and against third-place Warner Pacific. The latter victory occurred on Saturday and knocked the Knights out of contention for the No. 2 seed, as the Warriors got all but six of their points from a solid starting group. Davian Brown (14.8 points), John Lustig (12.6 points) and Silas Bennion (9.9 points, 3.5) make up a dangerous backcourt that led LCSC to a 7-4 record in the second half of CCC play. The Warriors are just two years removed from an appearance in the national championship game, though Bennion is the only active player who made starts for that team.