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LA GRANDE, Ore. -- The Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team returns to play this week against Concordia University and Warner Pacific College in La Grande.

THE SERIES
* Eastern Oregon holds a 26-23 lead in the all-time series over Concordia.
* The Mountaineers have won five straight games over CU since the Cavs won in Portland on Jan. 19, 2008, 67-63.
* EOU has won eight of the 11 matchups in La Grande since 2000, and 11 of 20 overall since 2000.
* Concordia's 47 percent shooting from the field is second in the Cascade Conference.
* EOU is 57-4 in Quinn Coliseum in the last 61 games. Three of those losses are to Warner Pacific.
* The Mountaineers own the all-time series over Warner Pacific, 25-20.
* The series is 11-11 since 2000. EOU has won three of the last five.
* This time last year WPC was No. 9 and 10-3 and Easten was No. 21 and 9-4.

QUICK HITS
* EOU is 34-1 in its last 35 regular season games at home.
* The Mountaineers are 57-4 in the past 61 games in Quinn Coliseum.
* Eastern Oregon has won 27 straight conference regular season home games.
* EOU's average margin of victory this year is 18.7 points.
* The margin of victory for Eastern at home this season is 22.
* The Mountaineers have only been outrebounded twice this season, but both times led to their two losses.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS
Concordia brings its efficiently shooting squad to La Grande Friday. The Cavaliers are 27th in NAIA Div. 2 shooting 47 percent from the field as a team. Freshman Adam Herman leads the Cascade Conference in field goal percentage shooting 63 percent. Gage Aker, a senior, is once again a leader in the CCC in assists throwing 4.69 per game. The Cavs will be searching for their first conference win of the season. CU has not won in La Grande since Jan. 31, 2006, when it won 87-83.

ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
Warner Pacific has had more success in Quinn Coliseum than any other program in the past five years. The Mountaineers have lost four games in La Grande in the last 61 games, and three of those losses have been to Warner Pacific. Webster Moreland leads the Knights this season. The senior is averaging a team-high 14.23 points, 7.85 rebounds, and 2.62 assists per game. The Fairmont, Calif. native has scored 51 points in his three games against EOU. WPC leads the CCC in offensive rebounds per game and is seventh in the nation with 16.39 per game.

LAST TIME OUT
The Mountaineers fell at No. 13 Oregon Tech, 89-78, on Dec. 18. The loss extended the streak to 31 years since Eastern has won at Klamath Falls. OIT won its 45th straight home game behind 28 points from Kyle Gomez. JC Cook led EOU with 19 points, while Thomas McCarthy scored 15 behind 5 of 6 shooting from behind the perimeter. It marked the second time this season EOU was outrebounded, both times were losses. Eastern knocked off Southern Oregon, 80-68, the prior night in Ashland. McCarthy scored a team-high 19 points and hit 4 of 9 from three-point range. The Mountaineers shot 53 percent from the field in the second half. It was 158th meeting between the programs.

NEW START TIMES FOR 2010-11
A new doubleheader format featuring men's and women's teams alternating time slots in conference play headlines the release of the 2010-11 Cascade Collegiate Conference men's and women's basketball schedules, CCC commissioner Dave Haglund announced. The first half concludes Jan. 15; the second half runs from Jan. 21 to Feb. 19. The CCC recently voted to modify the structure of its conference doubleheaders, which historically have featured the women playing at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men at 7:30 p.m. Beginning with the upcoming campaign, genders will split the two time slots. In the first half of conference play in 2010-11, men will play at 5:30 p.m. and women at 7:30 p.m.; in the second half, the genders will flip time slots. Men's and women's teams will flip their playing orders on a yearly basis.

DIALING LONG DISTANCE
Eastern is hitting its share of shots from behind the perimeter this season. The Mountaineers are second in NAIA Div. 2 in three-pointers made per game (10.46), and is third in total three-pointers made (136). EOU is fifth in the country in three-point percentage (41%). Jamar Johnson is fifth in the country with his 51 percent shotting from three-point range. Thomas McCarthy is 8th in NAIA Div. 2 with 43 three pointers, making 3.0 per game which is 13th in the nation. EOU's three-point field goal percentage on defense is 11th.

SOME RANDOMS
The Mountaineers have lost only one game when their bench outscores the opponents' bench. EOU has also only lost one time when it has shot better than its opponent from the field. Both of those losses were to Oregon Tech. The Mountaineers are 2-2 when trailing at halftime this season. Eastern is 10-0 when leading with 10 minutes left in regulation, but 1-2 when trailing with 10 minutes remaining. EOU is 6-0 on Fridays, and 6-0 when opponents finish with 60-69 points. No opponent has shot over 50 percent against Eastern.

MOUNTAINEERS LOVE FEBRUARY
Eastern Oregon has closed the season strong the past few seasons. The Mountaineers have gone 14-3 in the month of February the past two years. Only Oregon Tech has done a better job finishing the regular season strong. The Hustlin' Owls are 15-3 in February the past two seasons. Warner Pacific is 12-5 and Evergreen is 12-5 over the same amount of time.

CASCADING EFFECT
The Cascade Collegiate Conference has been a power in NAIA Div. 2 in the past few years. The same is going for this season as the league is listed as the second toughest behind the Mid-Central Collegiate Conference. EOU leads the league at No. 8, Northwest is No. 11, and Oregon Tech is No. 13. Southern Oregon is receiving votes. The MCC has four ranked teams, and two others in the receiving votes category.

BACK AMONG ELITE COMPANY
The Mountaineers moved up to No. 8 in the NAIA Div. 2 Top 25 this week, thanks to their great start to the 2010-11 season. EOU is in the top 10 for the 14th time in school history. Eastern last appeared in the top 10 before this season on March 4, 2009 when it was No. 10. The No. 8 ranking is the highest ranking since Dec. 1, 2008 when the Mountaineers were No. 5.

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARIES
Eastern Oregon is one of five teams to have made it to the past three Sweet 16 rounds at the NAIA Div. 2 National Tournament. Two programs in those five, Oregon Tech and EOU, are from the Cascade Collegiate Conference. There are only a dozen teams that have made the national tournament in each of the past three years, including Eastern.