RAIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL (15-11, 13-7 CCC)
2 p.m. Friday – vs. Walla Walla (5-20, 4-16) | Live Stats
5 p.m. Saturday – vs. Lewis-Clark State (19-7, 17-3) | Live Stats
TICKETS | LIVE STREAMS

ASHLAND – As much as the final weekend of the regular season is about playoff positioning, gathering momentum heading into the Cascade Conference Tournament is of equal importance for the Southern Oregon men's basketball team.

The Raiders (15-11 overall, 13-7 CCC) have a chance to secure the No. 4 seed as 10th-place Walla Walla (Wash.) (5-20, 4-16) visits at 2 p.m. Friday and second-place Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (19-7, 17-3) follows at 5 p.m. Saturday for the regular-season finale. They've been at their best inside Lithia Motors Pavilion, going 8-1 against CCC competition with only an overtime loss.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: SOU is currently tied with Corban for fourth place and one game up on Bushnell. In the event that the Raiders complete the regular season tied with either of them, they'll hold tiebreakers over both Corban (thanks in large part to their upset of College of Idaho) and Bushnell (which they swept in the season series). If the Raiders earn the No. 4 seed, they'll be home for Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal round of the CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank. If not, they'll be on the road for the duration of the tournament, which continues with the semifinals on March 2 and the title game on March 5. College of Idaho, ranked No. 3 in the NAIA coaches' poll, has already clinched the No. 1 seed and at least a share of the regular-season title for the fourth consecutive season. The Yotes host Corban and Bushnell this weekend.

BRIEFLY:

• The Raiders are 8-1 at home and 5-6 away in CCC games, but it is not the offense that has fluctuated with their travels – in fact, they're shooting the same percentage from the field regardless of the venue, they're better from 3 on the road (35% to 30%), and they're turning the ball over slightly more frequently at Lithia Motors Pavilion. Their success has correlated directly with their luck on the defensive end: In seven CCC losses, opponents are shooting a staggering 56 percent from the field, including a 44-percent clip on 3-pointers. Opponents have shot better than 49 percent against SOU 11 times overall; the Raiders have lost 10 of those games.
• Over SOU's last six games, Dominic McGarvey has averaged 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds, shooting 60 percent from the field (36-of-60). In CCC play, he ranks among the circuit's top-20 in rebounds (5.2), field-goal percentage (51.1) and blocked shots (0.9). His career total of 72 blocks, accumulated in under two seasons, ranks eighth on SOU's all-time list.
• Teron Bradford is up to 264 career assists, the 15th-highest total in SOU history. He's 15 away from entering the top-10 in his junior season. On the CCC leaderboard, Bradford ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.8-to-1) and ninth in assists per game (3.5). He has 24 assists and one turnover in his last five games combined. He's also averaging 9.3 points, and the Raiders are 7-1 in conference games when he scores in double figures.
• Since the start of February, Elijah Jackson is 13-of-19 from 3. His 3-point percentage of 45.6 is the third-highest in the CCC.
• The Raiders don't have anyone averaging more than 14 points for the first time in 14 years, but their bench is pouring in 27.5 per game in conference play – five more than opponents. Over the last four games, their reserves have outscored opponents' by an average margin of 21.8.
• Only 16 teams in the NAIA are averaging fewer turnovers per game than the Raiders (10.3). They've committed more than 10 once in their last eight games.
• SOU is 9-2 overall at home this season and 55-18 at home since moving into Lithia Motors Pavilion in 2018.

ABOUT WALLA WALLA: The Wolves have not yet been officially eliminated from playoff contention, but one loss or a Northwest win this weekend will do it. They've dropped six consecutive games, have recently been without top scorer and rebounder Soren Dalan, and are surrendering a league-high average of 91 points. SOU won the first matchup, 93-85, though the Wolves led by as many as seven points early in the second half. The Raiders are 14-2 overall in the series.

ABOUT LEWIS-CLARK STATE: The Warriors enter the weekend tied for second place with Oregon Tech and have drubbed nearly everyone on their CCC schedule except College of Idaho, which defeated them handily twice, and Bushnell, which got them two weeks ago in Eugene. Four different players are averaging double-figure points, led by forward Jaedon Bradley (14.4 points, 5.5 rebounds) and guard Davian Brown (12.8 points). Theirs is the 34th-most efficient offense in the NAIA. It fired on all cylinders in a 75-58 win against SOU on Jan. 12, when the Warriors went 31-of-54 from the field. The series is tied, 6-6, but the Raiders had won four straight matchups prior to that outcome.