ASHLAND, Ore. – For the second time in the past three seasons, the Corban University Men's Basketball team will start the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament against a familiar foe that continuously provides the Warriors with intense down-to-the-wire matchups, no matter which court the teams lace up on. This year, the Southern Oregon University Raiders found themselves on the positive side of their conference tiebreaker, resulting in a road game for the No. 5-overall seeded Navy and Gold deep in enemy territory. 

To access the 2023-24 CCC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship page, click HERE.

The following schedule depicts the CCC Tournament Quarterfinal matchups, with the higher seed hosting each contest:

#8 Northwest University at #1 College of Idaho

#7 Eastern Oregon University at #2 Lewis-Clark State College

#6 Bushnell University at #3 Oregon Tech

#5 Corban University at #4 Southern Oregon University

As the conference coaches predicted in the 2023-24 preseason poll, the defending national champions and No. 3-ranked College of Idaho Yotes were able to repeat as conference regular season champs for third-straight season after suffering just a single CCC loss all year long. That one loss came on opening weekend of conference play to the aforementioned Raiders that Corban will look to knock out of the postseason in their own opening round matchup, scheduled for Wednesday, February 28th, at 7:30pm in Ashland.

Southern Oregon (16-12, 14-8) has thus far experienced an almost identical season result when compared to the Warriors (17-10, 14-8) in 2023-24, with both teams experiencing multiple winning streaks while also suffering from unexpected losses up and down their schedules. Despite their momentary setbacks, both teams have exceeded expectations when compared to their preseason poll foreshadowing that saw the Raiders picked to finish fifth and Corban in seventh. The lone differentiating factor between the otherwise identical programs in terms of success has been the Raiders' upset of the No. 3-ranked Yotes, while the Warriors finished just three points shy of replicating the same success on their own home court against C of I, thus resulting in the narrow tiebreaker scenario that provided SOU with home court advantage this week.

The Warriors will look to topple the Raiders just as they did to them in the CCC quarterfinals back in the 2021-22 season, where Southern Oregon stormed into the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center and took a narrow 67-65 decision with them back to Ashland. Corban has the opportunity to do the same to SOU in their most recent postseason clash, with their previous matchup in Ashland also coming down to a single possession and nearly falling the Navy and Gold's direction.

While each team has struggled as of late against the same playoff teams that currently sit in the top three seeds of the CCC playoffs in the No. 1-seeded Yotes, No. 2-seeded Lewis-Clark State College, and No. 3-seeded Oregon Tech, only one of these two programs will have a third and final opportunity to right the ship and provide themselves with one last glimmering hope of securing an automatic bid into the NAIA National Tournament.

With the Raiders holding the slight upper hand on their home court, that hasn't stopped them from dropping three games in the Lithia Motors Pavilion this season, most recently to the same LC State program that clinched the second overall seed after a sweep of the southern Oregon programs. Additionally, out of SOU's nine home wins, over half of them finished as just two-possession games, with their narrow victory over Corban being the only one-possession win they secured all season long, whether that be on the road or at home.

That being said, the Warriors will find themselves in a respectable position if they can jump out to an early lead on Wednesday evening, with the Raiders struggling to fight their way back into contests after falling behind all season long. Just as they did on their own Senior Night against Southern Oregon, Corban can set the tone early with even the slightest bit of consistency on their own offensive end of the court given their superb defensive gameplan that has proven to be their most reliable factor year after year in the Coach Kelly era. The Warriors' defense is ranked second overall in the CCC in terms of field goal defense, with the No. 3-ranked Yotes representing the only other team with more consistent defense against shots anywhere on the court, while the Navy and Gold's three-point field goal defense tops the entire conference at less than 31% of all longballs finding paydirt while they're in their own backcourt.

Corban will be relying quite heavily on their four senior student-athletes to set the pace early for an otherwise young Warrior roster, with the quartet of guards, Taylor Anderson, Collin Warmouth, Reece Van Lierop, and Josiah Roth representing every facet of the game. Anderson's ability to stretch the court and pull up from anywhere on the floor will be vital in allowing Warmouth and Van Lierop opportunities to launch from beyond the arc, while still threatening an easy layup or uncontested midrange jump shot should any member of the trio have an open lane. Meanwhile, Roth's defensive prowess has proven integral for Coach Kelly's squad in forcing difficult shots by their opponents and forcing an abundance of turnovers, thus resulting in the program's second best turnover margin in the conference at +1.52 overall.

In addition to the senior guards that often find themselves in the starting lineup together, transfer junior forward Jay Wilson fulfills that fifth piece needed for the Navy and Gold to become their own fireworks display in Ashland this week. The Denton, Texas native didn't waste much time establishing himself as one of the best big men in the CCC, scoring over 16 points per game and hauling in over seven rebounds in the post on a nightly basis to provide an overwhelming presence in the post for the Warriors. It's no secret that Corban's lineup is built for perimeter shooting and driving to the basket from outside the paint, but Wilson and junior forward Devean Hinton have no problem asserting their authority in the key when necessary.

As expected with the two nearly identical programs, the Raiders will also be looking to their upperclassmen for leadership if they want to protect their home court advantage, starting on the offensive end of the floor with guard Casson Rouse and Dominic McGarvey. The junior-senior guard and forward combo are the only members of SOU that average double-figures on a nightly basis, with nearly every member of their daily rotation able to step up and score when called upon. The trouble for Southern Oregon will be finding said consistency, as every member of the rotation outside of Rouse and McGarvey have a trend of disappearing on the offensive end on a rotating basis depending on the given opponent. Defensively, forward Brett Hollins has been the pillar that SOU has leaned on all season long, leading the team in steals and second in blocked shots behind only 6'9 McGarvey.

The winner of the conference tournament will receive the conference's second automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament, which will begin on March 15th with the Opening Rounds, set to be hosted at various campus sites around the NAIA. Should the No. 3-ranked Yotes claim the CCC Tournament title, the second automatic bid would go to the tournament runner-up.

Live video for tomorrow's quarterfinal matchup between the Warriors and Raiders will be made available HERE, while live stats can be viewed HERE.

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