RAIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL (13-7, 10-2 CCC)
Jan. 30-31 | Ashland, Ore. (Lithia Motors Pavilion) | Tickets
2 p.m. Friday – vs. Walla Walla (0-18, 0-12) | Stream | Live Stats
5 p.m. Saturday – vs. Lewis-Clark State (15-5, 9-3) | Stream | Live Stats

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon men's basketball team hasn't been in first place this late in a season since 2015-16. Entering the weekend, the Raiders share the top perch with Oregon Tech. But if they hope to stay there, considering no team has a tougher remaining Cascade Conference schedule, then taking care of what's left at home is essential.

Out of the four other realistic title contenders separated by two games in the standings, the Raiders (13-7 overall, 10-2 CCC) still have to play three of them on the road. The lone exception is Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (15-5, 9-3), which visits Lithia Motors Pavilion at 5 p.m. Saturday after SOU hosts last-place Walla Walla (Wash.) (0-18, 0-12) at 2 p.m. Friday.

The Raiders have won four in a row and 11 of their last 13 overall, and they've played 11 consecutive games that were within five points in the final five minutes. LC State gave SOU its first conference loss in a game that featured seven second-half lead changes on Jan. 2 and is fresh off a four-point win over Eastern Oregon that knocked the Mountaineers out of first place.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: During a weekend marked by outstanding individual stat lines, the Raiders hung on to win 97-89 at Evergreen (Wash.) last Friday and 74-66 at Northwest (Wash.) on Saturday. Elijah Jackson scored 27 points on 9-of-10 shooting with four 3-pointers and Jace Anderson went 9-of-9 with 20 points, six rebounds and four steals in the first victory, which was SOU's 28th in a row over the Geoducks. Gio Evanson had 27 points and five steals at Northwest and scored 11 in a row for the Raiders down the stretch, a flurry completed by his step-back 3 with 37 seconds left in a three-point game.

IN THE RANKINGS: The only CCC team in Wednesday's latest NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll was No. 22 Oregon Tech, which SOU defeated 68-67 on Jan. 13 and plays again in Klamath Falls on Feb. 10. Lewis-Clark State received votes at No. 29 overall.

BRIEFLY:

• In conference play, SOU is the only team that has two backcourt players averaging at least 15 points in Gio Evanson (16.3) and Elijah Jackson (15.5). Over his last 10 games, Evanson is putting up 18.4 on 52% shooting from the field and 48% from 3, with 29 assists compared to just 14 turnovers. Jackson is up to 41% from 3, where he is taking over half his shots, and his 27-point total at Evergreen was the highest for any Raider on 10 or fewer field-goal attempts in 12 years. Together, Evanson and Jackson have helped SOU to the 26th-best offensive rating in the NAIA and the second-best in the CCC since the start of conference action.
• In his last five games, redshirt-freshman forward Jace Anderson has contributed 11.0 points on 65% shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals. He was averaging 5.2 points before the stretch. His season shooting percentage of 58.9 now ranks fourth in the CCC.
• The Raiders are 7-1 at home and limiting visitors to 65.7 points per game in conference play. Dating back to 2023-24, they've won 18 consecutive home games in which they've scored at least 70.
• The woeful 3-point shooting that marred the Raiders early appears to be coming around. They're at 38.5% downtown on 10 makes per game over their six, which is on par with their league-leading clips of last season.
• Bryce Dyer is four rebounds away from 600. He'll become the first Raider to reach that milestone as a junior since All-American Eric Thompson in 2013-14. Dyer's average of 7.0 this season ranks fifth in the CCC, and he has hit 9-of-15 3-point attempts over the last three weeks.
• The Raiders have come back from deficits of eight or more points in five of their 10 CCC wins.

ABOUT WALLA WALLA: The Wolves have a 24-game losing streak that stretched back to last season, but they nearly ended it four weeks ago against SOU. The Raiders survived, 92-87, behind Evanson's 30 points, while Soren Dalan led WWU with 26. At 7-foot, 290 pounds, Dalan presents one of the more confounding matchups in the circuit and is at 14.5 points and 7.7 rebounds on the season. The Wolves have a league-worst defensive rating, surrendering 90-plus points on 11 occasions. They're 2-18 all-time against SOU.

ABOUT LC STATE: With their matchups against College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon already out of the way, this is the biggest weekend left for the Warriors, and a sweep of the road trip would put them in the driver's seat of the championship race. Seeking a third straight NAIA Tournament bid, they're the most balanced offensive team in the league with five players scoring between 8.8 and 13.0 points a night. But they're at their best on the defensive end, where opponents are shooting 42% and averaging a league-low 66.2 points against them. The Warriors defeated the Raiders 72-65 at the beginning of the month by holding them scoreless over the final four-plus minutes. They took their only CCC losses in overtime at Eastern Oregon, by four points against Oregon Tech, and on a last-second 3 last week against College of Idaho.