Men’s Basketball Travels North for Two Key Matchups

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ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon University men’s basketball team looks to get back on top of the Cascade Collegiate Conference standings as the team gets ready to travel to Washington to take on conference opponents Evergreen state and Northwest University.

The No.6-ranked Raiders (15-3, 4-2) currently sit at second place in the CCC after falling at home against first-place Northwest Christian. The loss dropped the Raiders four spots in the NAIA rankings from second to sixth.

Southern Oregon has been led by sophmore forward Eric Thompson who tops the team in scoring with 20.8 points per game and is second in rebounds with 6.7 per game.

Senior guard Jeff Bush broke the career assist record last weekend agaisnt Northwest Christian and leads the team averaging 6.9 assits per game.

The Raiders will face Evergreen State (1-11, 0-5) who is looking for their first conference win of the season. The Geoducks appear to be a small obstacle for SOU but the amount of 3-pointers shot by Evergreen State stops them from being over looked. It will be key for the Raiders to protect the perimitor as they look to continue their success.

Following the game agaisnt Evergreen, SOU will continue to travel to take on fifth-place Northwest University (12-4, 3-2) on Saturday.

The Eagles fell out of the rankings after losing two conference games but their strength at the guard position insures it will be a tough game for Southern Oregon who has gone 1-6 over the last few seasons playing at Northwest.

The Raiders, who were picked to win the conference in the preseason, have a big weekend ahead if they want to get on top of the standings this year. Two wins this weekend will put them in a great position to make a run at the conference title.