FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team looks to get back on the winning track as they returns to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action this week with a pair of games. Tech hosts Lourdes on Wednesday evening before traveling to Ann Arbor to take on Concordia.
 
Indiana Tech (4-4, 2-1 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 8 p.m. vs. Lourdes (4-3, 1-3 WHAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
Saturday, Dec. 5, 3 p.m. at Concordia (5-2, 3-1 WHAC) – Ann Arbor, Michigan (Concordia Gymnasium)
 
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: The Warriors dropped a hard-fought game to undefeated (7-0) Rochester College, 67-64, on Sunday afternoon at the Schaefer Center. Dominique Walls led the way for the Orange and Black with a game-high 20 points while setting career-highs in rebounds (13) and blocks (five) and picking up two steals. Miles Robinson added 12 points and six rebounds while Lavonte Davis chipped in 11 points, seven boards and two blocks. Robinson would have a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but his shot rimmed out.
 
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: Lourdes – The Gray Wolves head to Fort Wayne having recently snapping a three-game losing skid with a 69-63 victory of Michigan-Dearborn last Tuesday for their first conference win. E.J. Blackwell leads the team in scoring with 18.6 points per game and is also pulls down 5.6 rebounds per contest and shooting 47.9% from the floor. Zach Steinmetz is averaging 15.7 points per game and leads the Gray Wolves in rebounding with 9.3 boards per game.
 
Concordia – The Cardinals will travel to Madonna on Wednesday before hosting Tech, but recently saw their unblemished conference record go away and three-game winning streak snapped with a 92-71 loss to Aquinas last Tuesday. Alec Turner and Jerald Booker lead the Cardinals offense, averaging 14.0 and 13.9 points per game, respectively. Jack Hermann controls the glass with 5.7 rebounds per game while Turner pulls down 5.0 boards a contest.
 
Series History: Lourdes – Tech is 4-6 all-time against the Gray Wolves, most recently falling 68-65 in Sylvania last year. Tanner Watkins had 11 points of 3-of-4 shooting from behind the three-point line while dishing out three assists.
 
Concordia – The Warriors are 13-7 against the Cardinals since 2005, most recently falling 69-67 last year. Tanner Watkins had a game-high 25 points and tied the game with one of his seven three-pointers, but the Cardinals would hit a jumper with 0.6 seconds left on the clock to escape Fort Wayne with the win.
 
Hard-Nosed Defense: Head coach John Peckinpaugh has instilled toughness in his team and it has translated to a suffocating defense and dominating shot-blocking presence at the rim. Tech has only allowed three opponents to score more than 70 points, with two of those games coming against third ranked Davenport and fourth ranked Saint Francis. The Orange and Black have also swatted at least three shots in every game except one. Nationally, the Warriors rank sixth in blocks per game (5.13), are tied for 10^th in total blocks (41), 25^th in scoring defense per game (68.88) and are tied 40^th in field goal percentage defense (.414)
 
Making an Impression: Senior transfer Dominique Walls has made an immediate impact for the Warriors this year. Walls has recorded double-doubles in five of the team's eight games and is averaging a team-high 17.3 points a game and shooting 59.8% from the field while pulling down 9.8 rebounds per contest. He also leads the team in blocks (17) and steals (12). He finds himself among the top-50 in seven different statistical categories, including five inside the top-20.
 
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 ninth in the nation in total blocks (17) and is averaging 2.1 swats a game, good for 13^th in the country. Davis is right behind with 1.6 blocks per game and 13 total blocks, good for 26^th and tied for 27^th, respectively, nationally.
 
On the Road Again: After Wednesday's game with Lourdes, the Warriors will take to the road for a three-game road trip and won't play at the Schaefer Center again until Dec. 21 when they welcome Concordia in for their second matchup of the season.
 
This and That: In their four wins this season, Tech has shot the ball better than 38.0% from the field while the Warriors have failed to hit more than 36.4% of their shots in their four losses…the Orange and Black had a season-high 29 free-throw attempts against Rochester on Nov. 29 and also had their second most blocked shots all year with seven….the Warriors have yet to have a player foul out this year…Tech is outscoring their opponents 290-240 in the first half of games this season, but is being outscored 311-295 in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
Tough Sledding: The Warriors have faced off with three teams that made the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll, No. 3 Davenport, No. 4 Saint Francis and No. 10 IU East. Tech will also take on preseason No. 1 Cornerstone, No. 14 Grace and No. 17 Northwestern Ohio. The first edition off the regular season poll will be announced on Dec. 1.
 
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.