NAIA Men's Basketball Game of the Week Preview
NO. 3 EOU at No. 12 WPC
NAIA Game of the Week
Division II Men's Basketball
No. 3 Eastern Oregon (26-2, 14-2 CCC) at No. 12 Warner Pacific (Ore.) (22-6, 13-3 CCC)
Friday, Feb. 15 | 7:30 p.m. PST | Bart Valentine Court | Portland, Ore.
Live Stats | Live Video (provided by Warner Pacific)
• In the final regular-season weekend in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC), No. 3 Eastern Oregon matches up with No. 12 Warner Pacific (Ore.) Friday with the league championship on the line. Both clubs wrap up conference play Saturday.
• With a 14-2 league record, Eastern Oregon holds a one-game lead over the Knights in the CCC standings. Eastern Oregon is searching for its first conference title since 2008 - 09 (shared with Oregon Tech), while the Knights last won it (shared with Oregon Tech) in 2006 - 07.
• Eastern Oregon leads the all-time series 27-24 overall, with the first meeting back in the 1971 - 72 season. In the last 10 meetings, the Mountaineers hold a 6-4 record.
• Warner Pacific has won the last three home contests with Eastern Oregon by an average margin of 13 points.
• The previous meeting on Dec. 1, 2012 saw Eastern Oregon escape its home court with a 61-59 victory. Kalvin Johansen's 3-point play was the difference-maker with 36 seconds remaining. Jason Mumm led all scorers with 24 points and chipped in eight rebounds.
• Prior to last weekend, Eastern Oregon was on a roll ranked No. 1 for the fifth-straight time until the Mountaineers ran into the Coyotes of College of Idaho Feb. 8. The Coyotes handed Eastern Oregon an 83-82 setback and halted a 12-game win streak.
• Warner Pacific has won four games in-a-row heading into Friday's contest. The Knights took down Corban (Ore.) Feb. 9 by an 80-68 score. That win, coupled with Eastern Oregon's loss to College of Idaho, brought Warner Pacific to within one game of the Mountaineers in the league standings.
• Eastern Oregon has gone 9-1 this year when playing games on the road. The Knights are 10-0 on Bart Valentine Court this year and have won 13-straight at home dating back to Feb. 10, 2012.
• Doug Thomas of Warner Pacific is the reigning CCC Player of the Week. He averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists during two road wins last week. On the year, he pours in 14.1 points per game and has drilled 62-out-of-151 attempts from behind the arc (.411). He is part of a club to rank eighth in the NAIA in total treys made (242) and 11th in makes per game (8.6).
• Stephen Harris leads the country in rebounding (10.6) and double-doubles (18). He also ranks first on the team in scoring (15.7) and steals (1.8). Besides Harris and Thomas, Ryan Parks (10.5) and Coletun Tarr (10.3) average double figures in scoring.
• The Knights have been ranked in all 10 polls this year, with a high mark of No. 6 on Jan. 22. Overall, they have held a Top 25 ranking in 22-straight weeks.
• With 26 wins, Eastern Oregon has seven more than all of last year. The overall victories ties the most since the program tallied 26 during the 2010 - 11 campaign.
• The Mountaineers are currently ranked No. 2 in the NAIA in rebounding margin (+11.6) and third in rebounding average (44.6). Four players average at least 4.5 boards per contest, with Anthony Brown on top of the list at 7.4. JD Esters stands 12th in the nation and is No. 1 in the CCC in assists per game (5.3).
• Trent Roos collects 13.3 points per game to lead the Mountaineers. Brown is next with a 11.9 clip.
• Both teams will participate in the CCC tournament, which begins Feb. 20 at campus sites. The higher seeds host in the eight-team, single-elimination tournament.
Some information courtesy of Eastern Oregon and Warner Pacific Sports Information Departments