RAIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL (9-6, 7-2)
7:30 p.m. Friday – vs. Corban (9-5, 6-3) | Live Stats
5 p.m. Saturday – vs. Bushnell (9-6, 6-3) | Live Stats
LIVE STREAMS | TICKETS
 
ASHLAND – Sitting on a 7-2 Cascade Conference record, Southern Oregon welcomes two teams that are both a game behind the Raiders in the standings for a key homestand at Lithia Motors Pavilion.

Coming off a road split, SOU (9-6 overall) hosts Corban (9-5, 6-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Bushnell (9-6, 6-3) at 5 p.m. Saturday to wrap up the first half of the CCC schedule. Fans at Friday's game will receive free Operation Red t-shirts, and the SOU Sports Hall of Fame class of 2023 – which includes 2006 NAIA Men's Basketball Player of the Year Shea Washington – will be recognized at halftime of Saturday's game.

NAIA TOP 25: In Wednesday's latest coaches' poll, the first released in five weeks, College of Idaho climbed two spots to No. 3 and Oregon Tech remained at No. 24. The Raiders, who accounted for C of I's only conference loss, visit the Yotes and the Owls as part of a five-game road swing that starts next week. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) did not receive votes despite currently sharing first place with C of I. The next poll will be released Jan. 31.

BRIEFLY:

• Some of SOU's best production has come from the bench in recent weeks. Cole McAninch has averaged 11.1 points on 51-percent shooting over his last eight games, and Mason Whittaker has averaged 11 while shooting 7-of-14 over his last three. At least one SOU reserve has scored in double figures every game in conference play.
• Casson Rouse is the first Raider to open his career with three consecutive 20-point games since Zac Olson in 2002. Through five outings, he is third on the CCC leaderboard at 18.8 points per game.
• Teron Bradford's assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.1-to-1 is the 11th-best in the NAIA. He has committed one or no turnovers nine games in a row, and dating back to his sophomore season hasn't committed more than two in 25 consecutive games. (SOU's team average of 10 turnovers ranks 25th among all NAIA teams.) Bradford is also averaging a career-high 10.5 points and coming off a season-high 16 at Walla Walla.
• The Raiders could benefit from some regression to the mean from outside: Their current 3-point percentage (31.0) is the team's lowest in 15 years. Dating back to last season, they have won 16 consecutive games in which they've shot 33 percent or better from 3.
• SOU is 46-18 at home since moving into Lithia Motors Pavilion in 2018.

ABOUT CORBAN: Just a few possessions separate the Warriors from the top of the standings. Last week at home, they led College of Idaho most of the night before falling 78-75 and were within a point of Eastern Oregon in the final minute of a 68-64 loss. Junior transfers Aundree Polk (17.6 points, 30-of-77 3FG) and Jay Wilson (13.3 points, 64.5% FG) have improved an offense orchestrated by Taylor Anderson (11.8 points, 2.9 assists), a fifth-year senior from Grants Pass. SOU is 52-47 all-time against the Warriors and has won four of the last five meetings in Ashland.

ABOUT BUSHNELL: An offensive rating (114.6 points/100 possessions) that ranks 23rd in the NAIA makes the Beacons dangerous against anyone; a defensive rating (110.0 points allowed/100 possession) that ranks 210th keeps them vulnerable. Their top three scorers – Stevie Schlabach (15.7 points), Kaden Sand (14.0) and Spencer Hoffman (11.07) – shoot 53 percent combined, and Schlabach is hovering around 1,800 career points with four All-CCC honors to his name. He scored 21 in the Beacons' 67-66 upset last year at SOU. The road team has won five consecutive games in the series, which SOU leads 34-28.