FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The (RV) Indiana Tech men's basketball team closes out the 2015 year with a pair of nonconference games against Ohio Christian and Grace before jumping back into Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play against Lawrence Tech on Saturday.
 
(RV) Indiana Tech (9-4, 7-1 WHAC)
 
Tuesday, Dec. 29, 3:30 p.m. vs. Ohio Christian (10-2, 0-0 KIAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 7:30 p.m. at (RV) Grace (11-3, 1-1 Crossroads League) – Winona Lake, Indiana (Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center)
Saturday, Jan. 2, 3 p.m. vs. Lawrence Tech (2-12, 2-5 WHAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
 
Following the Warriors: Links to live stats and video will be available for three games at IndianaTechWarriors.com. You can also follow the action on Twitter by following @INTechMBB and @INTechWarriors.
 
Last Time Out: The Orange and Black held off Concordia on Dec. 21, 71-68 for their fifth straight win overall and seventh straight WHAC victory. Using a season high 13 blocks, the Warriors were able to fend off the Cardinals in the final minutes behind clutch free throws from Miles Robinson, Tyrece Edwards and Jaelan Manson. Robinson tied his career high in scoring with 26 points, with 15 of those coming behind the three point line, and grabbed six rebounds in the win. Lavonte Davis added a career high 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting while grabbing five boards and blocking four shots. Dominique Walls recorded his fifth double- double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds while blocking a season high seven shots.
 
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 its most successful season in program history with a 25-11 record and rising to as high as 19^th 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: Ohio Christian – The Trailblazers had their three-game winning streak snapped by Mount Vernon Nazarene in their last game on Dec. 17, 77-73. Marquis Jackson leads the team in scoring with 24.3 points per game while shooting 44.7% from the three point line and is pulling down five boards a night. Gary Hoover averages 8.9 points and rebounds per game for OCU while Nic Baker (12.3) and Evin Bartlett (11.0) both average double digits in the scoring department.
 
Grace – The Lancers have won their past three games, including an upset over No. 23 California Maritime on Dec. 18 and picked up six votes in the latest NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, placing them in a tie with Warner Pacific for 34^th in the country. Grace is led sophomore big man Erik Bowen, who averages 14.8 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per contest and has recorder eight double-doubles on the season. Seniors Brandon Vanderhegghen and Logan Irwin are averaging 13.7 and 13.4 points per game, respectively.
 
Lawrence Tech – The Blue Devils host Holy Cross on Tuesday before coming to the Summit City, but have dropped their past four contests. Joe Harden is averaging 10.7 points per game while averaging 3.4 rebounds a night. Brad Watterworth controls the glass for LTU with 4.9 boards a game and chips in 8.8 points a night.
 
Series History: Ohio Christian – This is the first matchup between the two schools in recent memory (since 2005-06).
 
Grace – Tech is 2-4 since 2005, most recently losing a season ago at the Schaefer Center, 70-67.
 
Lawrence Tech – The Warriors are 6-0 against the Blue Devils since 2012, most recently sweeping the season series a year ago with a 69-59 win at home while LTU forfeited the other matchup.
 
Just Win Baby: Tech's five-game winning streak is its longest since the 2013-14 campaign, when the Orange and Black rattled off eight straight wins. The Warriors seven-game winning streak in conference play is also its longest since that season, when they won six straight WHAC games.
 
Hard-Nosed Defense: Head coach John Peckinpaugh has brought a hard-nosed style of defense to Indiana Tech in just his second season and it has been on display all season long. Tech has only allowed four opponents to score more than 70 points, with two of those games coming against then-third ranked Davenport and then-fourth ranked Saint Francis. Tech ranks 10^th nationally in scoring defense as they only allow 65.8 points per game while limiting opponents to 40.2% shooting, tied for 13^th in the country. The Orange and Black are tied for 35^th in three point field goal shooting percentage defense by holding opponents to a 31.5% clip.
 
Block Party: The Warriors imitating frontline duo of Dominique Walls and Lavonte Davis has been swatting opponent shots all season long and the duo rank among the best in the country. Walls ranks third in total blocks (33) and seventh in blocks per game (2.5) while Davis is tied for fourth in total blocks (32) and eighth in blockers per game (2.5). The Warrior are atop the rankings in total blocks with 86 while their 6.6 blocks per game ranks second.
 
Hitting the Mark: Miles Robinson has scored in double digits in 12 of the Warriors 13 games this year, and has topped the Orange and Black in scoring seven times, including a career-high 26 points against Michigan-Dearborn and Concordia. His 87.7% free throw percentage is good for 12^th in the nation while he is also hitting 41.3% of his shots and 44.9% of his three point attempts.
 
Hitting the Glass: Dominique Walls has been a beast on the glass for the Warriors, averaging a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game, including 2.8 boards on the offensive end. His offensive numbers are good for 36^th in the country while he ranks 37^th in rebounds per game. His 109 total rebounds ranks 41^st in the NAIA Division II and he has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in seven games this year.
 
This and That: Tech blocked a season-high 13 shots in the win over Concordia on Dec. 21…the Warriors have only had one player foul out this season…Dominique Walls had a season-high seven blocks against the Cardinals…Miles Robinson tied his season-high for three pointers in a game with five against Concordia.
 
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 take on four teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the latest edition of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Davenport is No. 3 in the latest rankings, while Cornerstone is fifth. The Orange and Black will look to get revenge on No. 21 Rochester on Feb. 1 while the team heads to (RV) Grace on Dec. 30. Tech will look to sweep the season series with No. 24 Aquinas on Feb. 6.
 
Getting to Know One Another: Peckinpaugh hit the recruiting trail hard in his first true offseason and went to great distances to find his current crop of players. Tech has student-athletes from six different states: Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio, and three countries: Australia, Serbia and the United States. Ohio tops the list with five players hailing from the Buckeye State, while Indiana is next with four. Michigan and Florida have contributed two apiece while Illinois and Kentucky each have one.
 
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. Among the transfers, junior Jantzen Goodwin (Vincennes University), senior Jaelan 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 Co