MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES: The Evergreen State College returns to Cascade Collegiate Conference action this weekend with home games against the Multnomah University Lions on Friday night and the Warner Pacific College Knights on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. starts in Costantino Recreation Center.

FOLLOW THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen fans unable to follow their Geoducks can do so via live stats and/or a pay-per-view live video stream at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/evergreen/. John Hammargren is back as the voice of Geoducks basketball on the live video stream.

ABOUT THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen carries a 3-4 overall record, a 0-1 mark in the conference, and a modest two-game winning streak into Friday's game against Multnomah. The Geoducks, who are 2-0 in home contests this season, average 74.6 points per game while allowing 74.4, and they are ahead of their opponents by 7.5 rebounds per game. That last statistic is particularly significant because Evergreen has struggled mightily in rebounding in recent seasons. Senior guard Taylor Drey is the leading scorer with 16.7 points per game, followed by junior post Shawn Spencer with an average of 15.6 points and Ryan Quigley at 10.7 points per contest. Spencer is shooting 64 percent from the field and Quigley is at 59 percent, both marks among the best in the conference. That duo also leads the Geoducks in rebounding, Quigley with 7.0 and Spencer with 6.4 per game. Senior point guard Jarrick Mitchell averages 6.3 assists per contest this season, another statistic that is among the best in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

ABOUT MULTNOMAH: After losing their conference opener at Warner Pacific on Tuesday, the Lions are now 3-7 overall and 0-1 in the CCC. Junior guard Darius Redrick leads his team with 15.9 points and 5.4 assists per game, while sophomore guard Ben Grandle chips in an average of 15.6 points. Other double-figure scorers are senior forward Ezekiel Martin with 11.0 points per game, and 6-6, 260-pound senior center Thomas Simien with 10.6 points per contest. Martin is the team's rebounding leader with an average of 7.5 per game. Overall, the Lions average 88.5 points while allowing 94.0, and they are 4.0 rebounds in the negative to their opponents.

LAST YEAR: Evergreen and Multnomah both won on the other's home floor last year, the Geoducks opening the conference season with a 97-84 victory in Portland and the Lions taking a season-ending 92-91 victory in Olympia on Ben Grandle's two free throws with 0.8 seconds left.

ABOUT WARNER PACIFIC: The Knights have been a conference power for a number of seasons and were picked third in the preseason coaches' poll. They have one of the CCC's top newcomers in 6-5 senior guard Bryce White, a transfer from NCAA Division I Portland State University. White averages 26.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists per season to date. Collin Malcolm, a 6-6 sophomore forward, chips in 15.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, while senior guard De'Corrius Sampson-Young averages 13.6 points. That trio combined for 77 points in Warner's 106-75 conference-opening win over Multnomah on Tuesday night. The Knights are 3-2 this season and play at Northwest University on Friday night. They average 85.4 points while allowing 74.0, but they are in the red regarding rebounds, with a season average of 38.6 per game compared to 41.8 for their opponents.

RECENT RESULTS: Warner Pacific has had Evergreen's number in recent seasons with 12 consecutive wins in the series, including a 103-77 decision in Portland and an 89-72 victory in Olympia. Evergreen's last win in the series came by a 73-72 score during the 2009-10 season.

EVERGREEN 92, LEWIS & CLARK 81: Taylor Drey poured in 29 points as the Geoducks defeated visiting Lewis & Clark College, 92-81, in a non-conference game played Tuesday night in Costantino Recreation Center. Drey was joined in double figures by Shawn Spencer with 19, Dalton Groenewold with 12 and both Ryan Quigley and Jonathan Jack-Nixon with 10.

CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL: Evergreen has been selected to place ninth in the 2016-17 Cascade Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Geoducks, ninth in the conference last season with a 5-15 record and an 8-20 overall mark, received 33 total points in the poll. College of Idaho was named the favorite for the upcoming season, tallying six first-place votes and 112 points in the poll. The Coyotes are coming off a fourth-place finish in the 2015-16 CCC standings, finishing 17-13 overall and 12-8 in conference games. Rounding out the top three are defending champion Northwest Christian with four first-place votes and 110 points, followed by Warner Pacific with one first-place vote and 103 points. Multnomah has been picked to finish 10th this season.