CCC CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY U.S. BANK
WEDNESDAY – QUARTERFINALS
7 p.m. – (8) Northwest at (1) Lewis-Clark State
7 p.m. – (7) Corban at (2) Eastern Oregon
7 p.m. – (6) Bushnell at (3) Southern Oregon
7 p.m. – (5) College of Idaho at (4) Oregon Tech
SATURDAY – SEMIFINALS (at higher seeds)
7 p.m. – OIT or C of I vs. LCSC or Northwest
7 p.m. – EOU or Corban vs. SOU or Bushnell
MARCH 3 – CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. – Lowest remaining seed at High remaining seed

TICKETS | LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS

THE MATCHUP: Southern Oregon finds itself in a familiar spot heading into the Cascade Conference Men's Basketball Championships presented by U.S. Bank, sitting right on the NAIA National Tournament bubble again. The Raiders (17-11 overall, 14-6 CCC) bolstered their case significantly with Saturday's dramatic 73-67 win to end the regular season at College of Idaho, another bubble team, and claimed the conference's No. 3 seed in the process. They'll host No. 6-seeded Bushnell (13-14, 10-10) for a quarterfinal matchup at 7 p.m. Wednesday inside Lithia Motors Pavilion, and it's safe to assume both teams' seasons will be on the line.

SOU swept the regular-season series, winning 77-67 in overtime on Dec. 20 in Ashland and 78-65 three weeks ago in Eugene. In the first matchup, the Raiders trailed by 10 points with eight minutes left in regulation. In the second, they were up 15 by halftime. The Beacons – seeking their first CCC Tournament win since capturing the 2016 title – had their streakiness on display again Saturday at co-champion Lewis-Clark State, as they led 60-43 with 15 minutes left and scored six points the rest of the way in a nine-point loss. Their offensive talent makes them an especially dangerous playoff opponent: On the CCC leaderboard, they have two of the top-four scorers in wing Kaleb Burnett (18.5 points) and forward Cory Jonson (17.5), as well as the man with the third-most 3-point makes in guard Squeeky Johnson (68-of-186). Bushnell and SOU's last postseason meeting was a 2019 quarterfinal that the Raiders won in Eugene, 78-77.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: The eight-team CCC Tournament is bracketed as of last year, meaning teams are no longer re-seeded after the first round. The SOU-Bushnell winner will play either No. 2 seed Eastern Oregon or No. 7 seed Corban in Saturday's semifinals (with the higher seed hosting), and the championship is slated for next Tuesday, March 3. EOU and Lewis-Clark State shared the regular-season title, but the Warriors earned the tiebreaker to get the No. 1 seed and the CCC's first automatic NAIA Tournament bid. The second bid goes to the tournament champion, but it will drop to EOU if LCSC wins the tourney.

The Raiders likely need at least a quarterfinal win and maybe more to position themselves for an at-large bid in the 64-team NAIA field. That was also the case last year, when they entered the CCC Tournament as the No. 4 seed, reached the semifinals, snagged an at-large and advanced to the NAIA quarterfinals as the No. 11 seed in their quadrant.

BRIEFLY:

• There will be no Clutch Player of the Year when the CCC awards are announced next week, but Gio Evanson's case is worth reviewing anyway. The sophomore may have saved SOU's season at College of Idaho by scoring 25 of his 29 points on eight field-goal attempts in the second half, including the go-ahead and dagger 3-pointers over the final 1:15. Previously, he scored 17 of his then-career-high 25 down the stretch of an overtime win against Bushnell; he hit a go-ahead 3 against Oregon Tech with 12 seconds left before coming up with a game-saving block; and he scored 18 of his 27 in the second half of a tight win at Northwest, shutting the door with three 3s in the final few minutes. Evanson led the Raiders in conference play at 16.6 points per game, shooting 50% from the field, 43% from 3 and 83% at the line. He and EOU's Eamon Monahan were the only players in the circuit to average 15 or more on 50/40/80 splits.
• Elijah Jackson ended conference play as the 13th-leading scorer (14.9 points) and seventh in assists (3.1). Only one other player, OIT's Jackson Cooper, was top-15 in both categories. Entering his final postseason, Jackson's career total of 1,240 points is the 18th-highest in team history. He averaged 18 in six postseason games last year.
• Bryce Dyer shot 25-of-50 from 3-point range in conference play, ranking second in percentage after going 2-of-12 in nonleague action. Dyer was also second in offensive rebounds (2.8) and sixth in total rebounds (7.5).

SOU TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Raiders are in the CCC Tournament for the 15th consecutive postseason. They've won seven consecutive and eight of their last nine quarterfinal games, including all six played at home in that span. They and College of Idaho are the only teams that have reached the semifinals every year since 2018, but they haven't won the title since 2005. SOU is seeking its 12th all-time NAIA Tournament bid and third in four seasons under coach Matt Zosel.