EUGENE, Ore. – The magic number is down to one. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Beacons need just one win or one Corban University loss to secure at least fourth-place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference and a top-four seed in the eight-team CCC tournament.
 
Obviously, the Beacons prefer to take care of business on their own and not put themselves in a position where they are reliant on the outcome of a game being played 60 miles away. They first such opportunity to control their own destiny will be their hardest CCC home game of the season when they play host to No. 6 Southern Oregon University on Friday night.
 
The Beacons (18-9, 13-5 CCC) have the task of trying to take down the reigning CCC Champions, who clinched the regular season crown on Sunday. The Raiders (24-1, 17-1) have been dominant during their run through the conference, averaging 17 more points per game than any other school and winning by an average margin of 35 points per game.
 
Northwest Christian will look to catch SOU in cruise control as the Raiders have already earned their berth in the NAIA National Championship and are all but assured one of the four No. 2 seeds for the event. If the home team is going to get it done, it will have to be on the defensive end, which has been the bread and butter of both programs this season.
 
SOU ranks second in the conference, allowing just 55.2 points per game and NCU is close behind in third at 57.4 ppg. The Beacons lead the conference and are ranked second in the entire NAIA in defensive field goal percentage (.339 against). Southern Oregon, however, is right there nipping at NCU's heels, ranked third in the NAIA at .340.
 
The similarities don't end there. As the two teams with the most size in the conference, it is no surprise that they both lead the way in blocking. The Beacons are the pace setters, averaging 6.1 blocks per game while Southern is second at 4.0.
 
The Beacons will rely on their other strengths as well if they are to get the job done. The team is second in conference in free throw shooting (73.7%) and has the third-best 3-point percentage in the conference (.340). Southern Oregon has plenty of strengths of their own, leading the CCC in rebounding (45.1 rpg), assists (19.2 apg), steals (15.1 spg) and turnover margin (+8.68).
 
The Beacons will hit the weekend with their eyes set on more than just clinching the No. 4 seed. NCU also has a chance to catch Oregon Tech and tie for third-place, making it possible to earn the No. 3 seed, depending on how conference tiebreakers shake out. NCU is one game behind the Owls and will play them in the final game of the regular season on Saturday night.