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LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 12 Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team travels to Northwest Christian University and Corban University Friday and Saturday to wrap up the first half of Cascade Collegiate Conference play.

Below is the weekly release for the weekend games. Live video and stats will be on EOUSports.com.

THE SERIES
* Friday will only be the 11th meeting all-time between Eastern and NCU.
* The Mountaineers have an 8-2 lead in the all-time series.
* The Beacons won the first meeting, 100-85, in the 1988-89 season in Eugene.
* EOU has never lost to Northwest Chrisitan in La Grande (6-0), but is 2-2 in Eugene against them.
* Corban holds a 27-20 lead over Eastern Oregon in the all-time series.
* Last season's three-point win in Salem was the first time the Warriors beat EOU as Corban, after its name change from Western Baptist.
* The Mountaineers have won nine out of the last 10 games against Corban.

QUICK HITS
* EOU is 36-1 in its last 37 regular season games at home.
* The Mountaineers are 59-4 in the past 63 games in Quinn Coliseum.
* Eastern Oregon has won 29 straight conference regular season home games.
* EOU's average margin of victory this year is 16.4 points.
* The margin of victory for Eastern at home this season is 19.5.
* The Mountaineers have only been outrebounded twice this season, but both times led to two of their three losses.
* Eastern is 11-1 when leading at halftime this season.

ABOUT THE BEACONS
NCU (7-12, 1-6) has played well at home in the Morse Events Center, winning four of six, but head into the weekend losers of four of their last five games – all by eight points or more. Kellen Spicer (16.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and Quentin Guidry (15.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg) are the key players for the Beacons. The series between Eastern and Northwest Christian began 22 years ago. NCU is in the bottom half of most of the stat categories in the CCC, but is second in the free throw percentage (.739).

ABOUT THE WARRIORS
Corban (12-7, 2-5) is a couple bounces away from being 4-3 in league play – as three of their last four games have gone to overtime, winning just one of the games in the extra session. Justin Sherwood and his bunch are 5-2 at home this season and average 81 points a game – but opponents are averaging 79 points per night and making 45-percent of their field goal tries. CU is paced by freshman Jordan Carter (16.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg), along with forwards Erik Cronrath (15.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Ian Logan (12.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg). CU has an NAIA record 801 games in a row with a made three-pointer.

LAST TIME OUT
The College of Idaho men's basketball team picked up a big win over rival No. 8 Eastern Oregon University, 78-68. The Yotes won their fifth straight game behind 34 points from Matt Ballenger. The junior scored half of C of I's points as he shot 12 of 21 from the field, including 6 of 21 from behind the perimeter. He added a team-high nine rebounds and nine steals. The Mountaineers fell for the first time this season when they outrebounded their opponent, had their bench outscore the opponents' bench, and led at halftime. College of Idaho also became the first team this season to shoot 50 percent from the field against EOU. The Yotes finished 50 percent from the field and 28 percent from three-point range. Jamar Johnson led Eastern with 15 points.

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 (10.31), and is fourth in total three-pointers made (165). EOU is seventh in the country in three-point percentage (40%). Jamar Johnson is seventh in the country with his 48 percent shotting from three-point range. Thomas McCarthy is seventh in NAIA Div. 2 with 57 three-pointers, making 3.4 per game which is fifth in the nation.

STREAKING TO SUCCESS
On December 1, 1987, then-Western Baptist College went 0-for-7 from beyond the three-point line in a game against then-Western Oregon State College. Since then, the Warriors have gone 801 straight games making at least one three-pointer in a game. This feat is a men's basketball national record among four-year schools, as NCAA Division I member UNLV is second with 783-and-counting. Besides the current streak, Warrior men's basketball also made an NAIA record 564 three-pointers during the 1989-90 season.

POINTS OF SUCCESS
Eastern Oregon point guards, Cody Thurmond and Josh Cottle, are having exceptional seasons this year. The pair are benefitting from the barrage of outside shots in 2010-11 and are racking up assists. Thurmond is fourth in the conference in assists per game and Cottle is fifth. The duo are one and two atop the CCC in assist to turnover ratio.

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. OIT leads the league at No. 8, Eastern is No. 12, and Northwest is No. 14. 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 to No. 12 in the NAIA Div. 2 Top 25, thanks to their great start to the 2010-11 season. EOU has been in the top 10 this season 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.