MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES: The Evergreen State College hosts a pair of nationally ranked Cascade Collegiate Conference men's basketball opponents this weekend at Costantino Recreation Center. The Geoducks face the No. 24-ranked College of Idaho Coyotes on Friday and the No. 16-ranked Eastern Oregon Mountaineers on Saturday with tipoff for both games scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

FOLLOW THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen fans unable to follow their Geoducks can do so via live stats and/or a live video stream at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/evergreen/.

ABOUT THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen, 5-6 overall and 2-3 in the conference, faces arguably its most difficult back-to-back test of the season in College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon. The Geoducks saw their four-game winning streak come to an end prior to Christmas with conference road losses at Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech. They face a difficult challenge in getting back to the win column, though to their credit they are a perfect 4-0 at home this season.

GEODUCKS BY THE NUMBERS: Taylor Drey continues to lead the Geoducks in scoring with 18.6 points per game, followed by Shawn Spencer at 14.0 and Ryan Quigley at 10.8. Quigley is the rebounding leader with 7.3 per contest, again followed by Spencer with 6.8. Jarrick Mitchell leads the conference with an average of 6.5 assists per game. Evergreen averages 75.4 points per game while allowing 78.7, but it is a plus 4.3 in rebounding this season.

ABOUT COLLEGE OF IDAHO: With a 10-4 overall record, including a 3-1 conference mark, the Coyotes are playing the best defense in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. They allow just 66.0 points per game, hold opponents to 43 per shooting, and are best in the circuit with 10.0 steals per game and a plus 6.5 turnover margin. Emanuel Morgan is a dynamic 5-5 guard who averages 5.8 assists per game while ranking fourth in NAIA Division II basketball with 36 total steals. The scoring leader is 6-7 forward Joey Nebeker at 13.7 points per game, and he is followed by 6-7 forward Aziz Leeks with 12.4 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game. Nebeker leads the conference with 91 percent free throw shooting and Leeks is among the best in field goal percentage, making 59 percent of his attempts. Can't go without mentioning 6-4 guard Aitor Zubizarreta, who while averaging "just" 9.7 points per game this season went off for 44 points in a victory at Evergreen last year.  

THE SERIES: College of Idaho has a 28-8 advantage in the series with 12 straight wins, including 88-81 and 100-85 decisions last year. The 'Yotes also own a 13-4 mark against Evergreen in Olympia.

ABOUT EASTERN OREGON: The Mountaineers have an 11-2 record – their two losses by a combined five points – heading into a Friday night showdown with nationally ranked Northwest University Kirkland. Eastern Oregon is off to a great start under new (and former) head coach Isaac Williams. When he served as EOU head coach from 2009-13, the Mountaineers compiled 96 total wins and made four trips to the NAIA national tournament. Williams originally left to take a job on the staff at Boise State before returning to La Grande. He has plenty of talent with which to work, led by 6-7 forward Bryan McGriff and his 21.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Kentrell Washington, listed as a 6-4 guard but who plays near the basket, averages 13.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest. Other top players are 5-11 guard Max McCullough with 16.2 points per game and 6-3 guard Blake O'Donnell and his 14.0 points per contest. Eastern Oregon averages 90.8 points while allowing 81.8, and they have a plus 4.4 this season in rebounding.

RECENT RESULTS: Eastern Oregon has won 14 straight against Evergreen dating back to the 2008-09 season when the Geoducks swept the Mountaineers. Last season, EOU beat Evergreen by 103-93 and 85-65 scores.

SOUTHERN OREGON 92, EVERGREEN 61: Jonathan Jack-Nixon scored a career-high 27 points – his previous single-game high point total was 13 – but it wasn't nearly enough to prevent Evergreen's loss to Southern Oregon in Ashland.

OREGON TECH 73, EVERGREEN 60: The Geoducks held a one-point lead at the half but cold-shooting down the stretch swung the game in favor of the home team in Klamath Falls. Taylor Drey scored 17 points and Ryan Quigley added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.