MEN'S BASKETBALL

CCC Quarterfinals Tuesday 2/21 at The College of Idaho, 7:30 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
LAST WEEK: The Beacons (12-16, 10-12 CCC) qualified for the CCC Tournament after a weekend split against Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon. The Beacons knocked off Oregon Tech on Friday, 66-64, to clinch a post-season bid, and ended with the No. 8 seed after dropping Saturday's contest to Southern Oregon, 70-61. 
 
CCC TOURNAMENT: While The College of Idaho (27-1, 22-0) cruised to the regular season championship and clinched the No. 1 seed with over two weeks remaining, the battle for the No. 2- No. 8 seeds all came down to the final night of the regular season. When the dust settled, No. 2-seed Eastern Oregon (16-6) will face No. 7- seed Oregon Tech (11-11), No. 3-seed Southern Oregon (15-7) will face No. 6-seed Lewis-Clark State (11-11), and No. 4-seed Warner Pacific (15-7) will host No. 5-seed Corban (15-7).
 
CONFERENCE/NAIA RANKS: The Beacons finished the regular season ranked fifth in the CCC in scoring (80.6 points per game) and eighth in defense (79.2 ppg allowed). Bushnell leads the conference in defensive three-point percentage as opponents are hitting just 31.1% of their deep shots. The Beacons remain No. 2 in the conference and in the NAIA in free-throw percentage (.797). They are behind only Warner Pacific (.814).
 
Individually, Spencer Hoffman is sixth in the conference in scoring (16.2 ppg) while Stevie Schlabach is 8th (15.3). Hoffman is also second in rebounding (9.0 rpg) and third in field goal percentage (.603). 
 
THE COLLEGE OF IDAHO: It will be a true David vs. Goliath meeting on Tuesday night as the Beacons take on the Yotes, who bring in the longest winning streak in all levels of College Basketball with 27 straight. Their only loss was in their season opener, falling to current No. 2 NAIA team and defending national champion Arizona Christian.
 
As a team, the Yotes lead the conference in offense (87.5 ppg) and defense (63.5 ppg) giving them the largest average margin of victory in the country (+24). 
 
College of Idaho swept the regular-season series with the Beacons, have won five straight, and are 23-8 all-time against Bushnell. The Beacons, however, will bring in a little confidence from the second-half of their last meeting, in which they out-scored the Yotes 52-38.
 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

CCC Quarterfinals: Wednesday at Oregon Tech, 5:30 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
LAST WEEK: Bushnell (17-10, 14-8 CCC) ended the regular season over the weekend with a pair of losses, falling to Oregon Tech on Friday, 60-55 and Southern Oregon on Saturday, 73-69 in overtime. 
 
CCC TOURNAMENT: Bushnell qualified for the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament as the No. 5 seed, finishing alone in fifth place in the CCC regular season. Lewis-Clark State and Eastern Oregon tied for the conference regular-season championship. A tie-break coinflip went to Lewis-Clark State, allowing them the second seed while receiving an automatic national birth. Eastern Oregon is the number-one seed in the 2023 CCC women's basketball tournament. As stated in the guidelines, if Lewis-Clark State College wins the tournament, the second automatic qualifier will go to the number one seed, Eastern Oregon, regardless of the runner-up.
 
Other matchups include No. 1-seed Eastern Oregon vs. No. 8-seed Evergreen, No. 2-seed Lewis-Clark State vs. No. 7 Corban, and No. 3 seed Southern Oregon vs. No. 6 seed College of Idaho.
 
The CCC tournament re-seeds, meaning that after the quarterfinals, the highest-remaining seed will host the lowest-remaining seed in Saturday's semifinal while the second-highest remaining seed will host the second-lowest-remaining seed.
 
CCC RANKS: Bushnell ranks fourth in the conference in scoring, averaging 66.2 points per game. The Beacons are fourth in field-goal percentage (.402) and sixth in three-point percentage (.310). Defensively, Bushnell ranks sixth in the CCC, allowing 61.7 points per contest.
 
Bella Pedrojetti leads the Beacons in scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game and ranks eighth in the conference in three-point shooting, making 36.1% of attempts on the season. Aspen Slifka ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.3 points per game, and ranks among the top-10 in steals per game (6th – 2.0). Slifka is averaging 5.6 rebounds per contest.
 
Libby Mathis ranks second in the CCC in field-goal percentage, making 53.1% of her shots. The junior is averaging 8.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks (5th in CCC) per game. Kalina Rojas is averaging 7.6 points per game and leads the Beacons in rebounding, averaging 6.8 per game. Aly Mirabile is second in the conference in assists per game at 3.7.
 
OREGON TECH: The Owls (20-8, 14-6 CCC) earned a home playoff game with wins over Bushnell and Corban over the weekend. Both contests between OIT and Bushnell have been tight battles as the Owls won the first contest 71-64 in Klamath Falls and got the regular season sweep with a 60-55 victory in Eugene last weekend.
 
The Owls rank third in the CCC in scoring, averaging 69.3 points per game, are second in rebounding at 43.2 rebounds per game, and are the top free throw shooting team, making 75.9% of attempts. OIT is fourth defensively, allowing 60.8 points per game.
 
OIT is led by sophomore guard Olivia Sprague, who is averaging 17.5 points per game, second in the CCC. Sprague ranks third from three (42.1%), fourth in free throw percentage (83.1%), third in steals per game (2.1) and first in assists per game (3.8). Maddyson Tull, is averaging 14 points (6th in CCC) and 7.1 rebounds per game. The junior center leads the conference is field-goal percentage, shooting 54.2%.
 
Oregon Tech holds a 22-12 advantage in the all-time series. If this quarterfinal matchup is anything like last year's, it is set up to be a good one. Bushnell hosted OIT in last season's quarterfinal, earning a 83-77 win in overtime.

ESPORTS

Tuesday 2/21, Overwatch 2 vs George Fox, 5:30 p.m. (Video Stream)
Saturday 2/25, Fortnite Regional Open #3, 12 p.m. (Video Stream)
 
The Bushnell Esports spring season continues as Overwatch 2 takes on George Fox on Tuesday. The Beacons are looking for their first win of the spring. Rocket League had the week off due to the holiday, while Valorant is on their bye week.  
 
Christian Velazquez and Ethan Slayden took third in the second Fortnite qualifier, finishing with 83 points (63 placement, 20 eliminations), one point short of first place. The duo has one more tune up before the Collegiate Championship, as they compete in the third qualifier on Saturday.

BASEBALL

Friday 2/24 vs. British Columbia, 11:00 am (Game One Livestats | Game Two Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday 2/25 vs. British Columbia, 11:00 am (Game One Livestats | Game Two Livestats | Video Stream)

Bushnell (4-2) grabbed a pair of series wins to open the non-conference slate, defeating both Jessup University and Simpson University in two of three games. The Beacons host the University of British Columbia for their home opener on Friday and Saturday.
 
LAST WEEK: Bushnell won both of Friday's games, entering the ninth inning tied a 5-5 in both contests. The Beacons rallied off seven hits in the final inning in game one and won the second game on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch. Simpson took the series finale, 7-4.
 
CCC RANKINGS: Bushnell is batting .301 as a team entering the weekend, which ranks third in the CCC. The Beacons rank sixth in ERA (6.12).
 
Ethan Stacy has started all six games at short stop, averaging .458 (2nd in CCC) with 11 hits to start the year. Brandon Reed is hitting .421 (4th) with eight hits, while Jordan Wilson is batting .360 (11th) with 10 runs batted in. Wilson's 10 RBI rank eighth in the CCC, despite playing in far less games than the rest of the list.
 
Ethan Sachs leads the Beacon pitching staff with a 3.00 ERA through two starts. Colby Knutzen has not allowed a run in his 3.1 innings of relief, while Trevor Hammond has held opponents scoreless in his 5.2 innings of work.
 
BRITISH COLUMBIA: The Thunderbirds, who are receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Preseason Poll, are off to a 7-5 to their non-conference slate. UBC took one game at (RV) Ottawa University and won a game at No. 2 Lewis-Clark State.
 
UBC leads the conference with a .308 batting average. Brandon Hupe, who is batting .294, has driven in 12 runs, ranking him fourth in the CCC. Trent Lenihan is hitting .375 (9th in CCC) with 11 RBI (5th). On the pitching side, Sean Heppner leads the Thunderbirds with a 1.84 ERA through three starts, ranking him fifth in the conference. Heppner leads the CCC with 17 strikeouts.
 
The Thunderbirds hold a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series with Bushnell. The Beacons split the conference series at the Hamlin Sports Complex in 2022.
 

SOFTBALL

Friday 2/24 at Southern Oregon, 2:00 pm (Game One Livestats | Game Two Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday 2/25 at Southern Oregon, 11:00 am (Game One Livestats | Game Two Livestats | Video Stream)
 
The Beacons are set to open up Cascade Collegiate Conference action this week, taking on No. 10 Southern Oregon University.
 
LAST WEEK: The Beacons had an exhibition double-header on Saturday against Pacific University, splitting the pair. Bushnell dropped the opener, 6-4, before cruising to an 8-1 win in game-two. That game featured a phenomenal pitching performance by senior Leslie Reynaga who threw a complete-game one hitter, striking out nine batters.  
 
CCC RANKINGS: The Beacons are currently seventh in the CCC for batting average (.246) and sixth for ERA (4.47). Madison Steelman has had a strong start to the season offensively, hitting .387. She has seven extra-base hits and ranks second in the conference for home runs (2) and total bases (25).
 
Sam Silver leads in the circle where she currently ranks third in the conference in strikeouts (21).
 
SOUTHERN OREGON: One of the many powerhouse teams in the Cascade Conference, SOU is currently 5-3 on the season and ranked No. 10 in the NAIA pre-season coaches poll. Last year the Raiders took second-place in the CCC and qualified for the national tournament opening round.
 
So far this season, the Raiders are fourth in the CCC for hitting (.304) and fourth for ERA (4.03).
 
SOU holds a commanding 73-11 lead in the all-time series with the Beacons. They have won 22 straight with the last Bushnell win coming in 2017.