FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball takes a break from conference play this week as they host No. 10 IU East on Tuesday evening before welcoming in Rochester College on Sunday afternoon.
 
Indiana Tech (4-2, 2-1 WHAC)
 
Tuesday, Nov. 23, 7 p.m. vs. No. 10 IU East (4-4, 0-0 KIAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
Sunday, Nov. 29, 3 p.m. vs. Rochester (6-0) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
 
Following the Warriors: Links to live stats and video for both games will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com. You can also follow the action on Twitter by following @INTechMBB and @INTechWarriors.
 
Last Time Out: Tech won its second conference game in a row as they improved to 3-0 at home with a 67-56 victory of Michigan-Dearborn on Saturday. Miles Robinson led all scorers with a career-high 26 points while adding six rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Dominique Walls and Scott Schwieterman also scored in double figures with 14 and 11, respectively. Schwieterman would pull down a career-high eight rebounds, while Walls would add five rebounds and two steals. Junior Lavonte Davis grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Orange and Black.
 
Head Coach John Peckinpaugh: Now in his second season at the helm for the Orange and Black, as well as his second stint with the program, head coach John Peckinpaugh went 11-19 in his first season as the head man for the Warriors. Peckinpaugh returned to Indiana Tech after serving as an assistant for the Warriors during the 2012-2013 season, where he served as the recruiting coordinator He was instrumental in recruiting all of the returning Tech players for the 2014-2015 season during this time. In between stints with Tech, the Muncie, Indiana, native served as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) during the 2013-14 year. While with the Mastodons, he was part of a coaching staff that helped the team achieve the most successful season in program history with a 25-11 record and being ranked No. 19 in the NCAA Division I Mid-Major poll. IPFW made it all the way to the Summit League Tournament Championship game, losing to North Dakota State, who would go on to upset fifth-seeded Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Mastodons would make the postseason for the first-time ever as a Division I program that season as well when they hosted Akron in the College Insider.com Tournament and defeated the Zips, 97-91.
 
Scouting the Opposition: IU East – The Red Wolves snapped a three-game losing skid on Friday as they defeated Miami-Middletown, 99-93. Lucas Huffman leads the team in scoring with 17 points a game while shooting 51 percent from the field. Hutson Clark and Aaron Thomas both control the glass for the Red Wolves by pulling down 7.5 and 6.9 rebounds per game, respectively. IU East was picked to win the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) in the KIAC Preseason Coaches' poll and received 223 votes and garnered number 10 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll after finishing the 2014-15 season at number 23.
 
Rochester – The Warriors are 6-0 on the season and will take on NCAA Division I for Western Michigan on Monday night in Kalamazoo. Paris Pereira leads the team in scoring (15.5) and assists (2.83) while Justin Nafso is right behind in scoring at 12.7 points per contest. Alex Storm pulls down over eight boards a night and averages almost three blocks a game.
 
Series History: IU East – Tech is 3-1 against the Red Wolves all-time, most recently upsetting the then-No. 18 team in the country, 93-86, on Dec. 30 to win their third straight in the series and their first win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 25 Lourdes on Dec. 14, 2013. Tanner Watkins had a game-high 27 points in the win and was 7-for-13 from behind the arc.
 
Rochester – This is the first-ever matchup on the hardwood between the two schools.
 
Finding His Groove: Junior Miles Robinson has averaged over 23 points over his last three games while shooting over 54 percent from the field and 56 percent from the three-point line to raise his scoring average to 18.3 points per game, most on the Warriors. He scored a career-high 26 in the victory over the Wolverines on Nov. 21 and has also pulled down 18 rebounds over the last three games. His 3.5 triples per game is 13^th in the nation while he ranks in a tie for 23^rd in total three-pointers made with 21.
 
Making a Good First Impression: Senior transfer Dominique Walls has made an immediate impact for the Warriors this year. Walls has recorded double-doubles in four of the team's six games and is averaging over 16 points a game and shooting over 63 percent from the field while pulling down over just under 10 rebounds per contest. He also leads the team in blocks with 11 and is tied for the team-lead in steals with eight.
 
Block Party: The Warriors imitating front-line of Dominique Walls and Lavonte Davis has made opponents hesitate coming inside the paint against Tech. Walls is tied for 22^nd in the country in blockers per game (1.83) and tied 26^th in total blocks (11). Davis is no slouch either with nine blocks, tied for 32^nd in the nation while his 1.5 blocks per game ranks him in a tie for 33^rd. The Orange and Black rank eight in blocks per game (5.17) and 16^th in total blocks (31).
 
Home Cooking: The Warriors are in the middle of a five-game homestand, with three of those games coming against WHAC opponents. After that, Tech will hit the road for a three-game trip. The Orange and Black won't have more than two games in a row either at home or away after that until the end of the year.
 
Tough Sledding: The Warriors will face off with six teams that were ranked in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Topping the list is three teams within the conference, including defending champion and preseason No. 1 Cornerstone. Davenport comes in at No. 3, while Northwestern Ohio sits at No. 17. Crosstown rival Saint Francis is fourth in the inaugural rankings, while the Orange and Black will also square off No. 10 IU East and No. 14 Grace.
 
Poll Thoughts: Indiana Tech was picked to finish in a tie for seventh the WHAC Coaches' Preseason Poll. Tech picked up 62 votes to tie with Michigan-Dearborn. The Warriors finished 11-19 last year with an 8-14 mark in conference play.
 
Lots of New Faces: While the Warriors returned eight players from last year's squad, that didn't stop Peckinpaugh from hitting the recruiting trail hard as he added five freshman and four transfers to the mix. Junior Jantzen Goodwin (Vincennes University), senior Jaelen Manson (Vincennes University) and senior Dominique Walls (Ashford University) will all look to make an immediate impact for Tech, while junior Edmond Early, Jr. (Owens Community College) will redshirt this season.
 
In the Trees: Tech has seven players who stand 6'5" or taller, including five that are 6'7" or taller. Starting forward Lavonte Davis (6'8") will be a matchup problem for opposing teams, while junior center Laurence Mifsud (7'0"), senior forward Milos Milidragovic (6'11"), sophomore forward Scott Schwieterman (6'7") and freshman forward JeQuante Davis (6'8") give the Warriors plenty of depth in the paint.