FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The (RV) Indiana Tech men's basketball team looks to get back to its winning way this week as they close out the first half of Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play with Northwestern Ohio on Wednesday before traveling to Michigan-Dearborn on Saturday to open the second half of conference action.
 
(RV) Indiana Tech (12-6, 8-3 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 8 p.m. vs. Northwestern Ohio (7-11, 4-6 WHAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
Saturday, Jan. 16, 3 p.m. at Michigan-Dearborn (8-10, 3-7 WHAC) – Dearborn, Michigan (UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse)
 
Following the Warriors: Live video and stats will be available for Wednesday's game via Stretch's Internet Game Central at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/indianatech/. You can also follow @INTechMBB and @INTechWarriors on Twitter to stay up to date on the action.
 
Last Time Out: Tech dropped its second game in a row on Saturday at Madonna, falling 97-89. Miles Robinson had a season-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting while picking up three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Dominique Walls had 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season while recording two blocks. Lavonte Davis chipped in with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds while swatting four shots. Tanner Watkins had a nine points and a team-high four assists.
 
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: Northwestern Ohio – The Racers drive over to Fort Wayne on a two-game losing skid, most recently falling at Lawrence Tech, 58-55. Lawrence Jackson leads the team in scoring (22.9 points per game) and rebounding (6.3 rpg) but hasn't played since Dec. 5 against Davenport. Ray Beatty is chipping in seven points a game while grabbing 5.6 boards a night.
 
Michigan-Dearborn – The Wolverines have lost two out of three games since the New Year, most recently falling to No. 25 Aquinas, 80-53 on Jan. 9 and will travel to Madonna on Wednesday. Marcus Williams is one of four players averaging double-digits at 15.7 ppg, while Xavier Crofford is shooting 46.6% from the floor and 44.3% from the three point line to add 14.4 points per contest. Paul Standtke and Jason Penn both average over six rebounds a contest, while Penn ranks 27^th in blocks per game, averaging 1.5 blocks a night.
 
Series History: Northwestern Ohio – The Warriors are 7-5 against UNOH since the 2007-08 season, but have lost four straight in the series. In their last meeting on Feb. 14, 2015, Franklin Lindsey had a double-double (23 points, 10 rebounds) but it wasn't enough as Tech fell to the 18^th ranked team in the country, 74-65, at the Schaefer Center.
 
Michigan-Dearborn – Tech is 19-2 against the Wolverines since the 2005-06 season, most recently winning 67-56 back in November. Miles Robinson led all scorers with 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 points, respectively. Schwieterman would pull down a career-high eight rebounds while Walls added five rebounds and two steals. Lavonte Davis grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Orange and Black.
 
Back in the Rankings: For the first time since Jan. 8, 2013, Tech was ranked in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll as they garnered the number 20 spot with 113 votes in the third week of the regular season poll on Jan. 5. The Warriors received three votes in the second edition of the poll back on Dec. 8. This week (Jan. 12) the Orange and Black picked up seven votes.
 
Mr. Double-Double: Dominique Walls has a knack for reaching the double digit plateau in both scoring and rebounding and that combination has gotten him eight double-doubles on the year, the most in the WHAC and is tied for 10^th nationally. He is second on the team in scoring at 14.3 ppg while shooting 60.8% from the field, the second best mark in the conference in all games while he ranks 13^th nationally. On the glass, he pulls down just under 8.7 boards per game and has nine games of double digit rebounds.
 
Locking it Down: Tech is holding its opponents to just 67.7 points per game this year, the 12^th best mark in the land while holding its opponents to just 40.8% shooting, ranking the Warriors 16^th in the country. Their three-point defense is just at stingy, limiting foes to 31.8% from downtown, placing them 24^th in the NAIA Division II.
 
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. Davis is just ahead of Walls in total blocks, 45-40, and the pair are second and tied for fifth in the country, respectively. Davis averages 2.5 blocks per game, the fifth best mark in the nation while Walls ranks 13^th with 2.2 blocks per game. As a team the Warriors are first in the nation in total blocks (114) and second in blocks per game (6.3).
 
Mr. Everything: Miles Robinson has been among the most consistent players for the Warriors this year. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native has scored in double digits in all but one game this season and he leads the team in scoring (18.8 ppg) and assists (3.1 apg) while hitting 43.6% of his three point attempts and pulling down 5.0 rebounds per game. He's also hitting 43.3% of his shots and is hitting his free throws at a 90.9% clip, the second best mark in the nation. He also ranks tied for 17^th in total three point field goals made (51), 25^th in total scoring (339), tied for 25^th in three point field goals made per game (2.8), 40^th in points per game and is tied for 44^th in three point shooting.
 
Cleaning up on the Glass: Dominique Walls has been a certified window cleaner for the Warriors this season, averaging a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game, tied for 26^th in the nation. His 2.9 offensive rebounds per game places him 30^th in the country while his 156 total rebounds places him in a tie for 18^th. The Chicago native also ranks 42^nd in defensive rebounds per game at 5.8 boards per night.
 
This and That: The Warriors made a season-high 33 field goals against Madonna on Jan. 9 while attempting 67 shots, their second most all year…Miles Robinson had a season-high 21 field goal attempts against Cornerstone on Jan. 6…Robinson made five three-point shots for the third time this year against Madonna…Milos Milidragovic had a season-high 11 points against the Golden Eagles while playing as season-high 18 minutes…the Warriors have only had two players foul out this season.
 
Tough Sledding: The Warriors have faced off with five teams that were ranked or receiving votes in any of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll: then-No. 3 Davenport, then-No. 4 Saint Francis (Ind.), then-No. 10 IU East, No. 24 Aquinas, (RV) Grace and then-No. 7 Cornerstone. Tech will face off with three of those teams again this year, fifth ranked Davenport (Jan. 23), No. 25 Aquinas (Feb. 6) and Cornerstone (Feb. 17) while they also take on (RV) Rochester College on Feb. 1.
 
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 Community College) will redshirt this seas