FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team heads to Sylvania, Ohio on Wednesday to tangle with Lourdes before hosting top-ranked Davenport on Saturday afternoon in the Schaefer Center.
 
#29/RV Indiana Tech (14-6, 10-3 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 8 p.m. at Lourdes (8-11, 3-9 WHAC) Sylvania, Ohio (Tam-O-Shanter)
Saturday, Jan. 23, 3 p.m. #1 Davenport (17-3, 11-1 WHAC) Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
 
Following the Warriors: Live stats will be available for Wednesday's game against Lourdes at http://www.sidearmstats.com/lourdes/mbball/, while Saturday's game against Davenport will have live video and stats available via Stretch's Internet Game Central, 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: The Orange and Black used a 34-20 advantage at halftime to springboard them to a 70-57 victory over Michigan-Dearborn on Saturday. Miles Robinson had a game-high 22 points while grabbing six rebounds. Dominique Walls added 14 points and four rebounds while Tanner Watkins had 13 points. Lavonte Davis chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds. Jantzen Goodwin added seven points and three rebounds off the bench.
 
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: Lourdes – The Gray Wolves have dropped three games in a row, most recently falling to No. 22 Aquinas, 64-46, on Saturday. EJ Blackwell leads the team in scoring with 17.5 ppg while Zach Steinmetz adds 16.1 points a night and leads the team in rebounding (8.7 rpg). Julian Johnson chips in 8.4 points a contest while averaging a team best 4.0 assists per game and 1.4 steals a night.
 
Davenport – The Panthers have won four in a row and will travel to Siena Heights on Wednesday before coming to Fort Wayne this weekend. Dominez Burnett leads the team in scoring (26.1 ppg), good for fourth in the NAIA, rebounds (7.5 rpg), assists (3.0 apg) and steals (2.2 spg) while shooting 54.9% from the floor. Wayne Bradford is shooting 48.5% from the three-point line and chips in 12.1 points a game.
 
Series History: Lourdes –The Warriors are 5-6 against the Gray Wolves, with the first meeting coming back on Oct. 30, 2010.  Tech won the first meeting this season 78-48 in Fort Wayne on Dec. 2.  The series is even 2-2 all-time at Tam-o-Shanter. Miles Robinson led all scorers with 16 points as he went 4-of-5 from the three-point line and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. The trio of Lavonte Davis, Tanner Watkins and Jaelan Manson all chipped in 12 points each, with Watkins and Manson hitting season-highs. Davis added a game-high three blocks while Scott Schwieterman pulled down a career-high 13 rebound while adding eight points and two blocks.
 
Davenport – Tech is 12-15 against the Panthers since the 2005-06 season, with Davenport taking the last nine in the series. The Panthers took the first game earlier this season, 83-63, when they were the third-ranked team in the country. Miles Robinson led all Tech scorers with 25 points and pulled down six rebounds. Tanner Watkins also got to double digit points with 12. Dominique Walls added eight point and a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Earning His Prize: Miles Robinson was named the WHAC Player of the Week on Jan. 18 after averaging 25.6 points and 6.0 rebounds in wins over Northwestern Ohio and Michigan-Dearborn last week. The Grand Rapids native also shot 43.2% from the field and was a perfect 14-14 from the free throw line. It is the first weekly award of his career and he is the first Tech player to garner the conference honor since Tanner Watkins won it back on Jan. 5, 2015.
 
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 31 votes (29th overall) in this week's rankings. The Orange and Black first made an appearance this season back on Dec. 8 when they garnered three 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 13^th nationally. He is second on the team in scoring at 14.3 ppg while shooting 60.5% from the field, the second best mark in the conference while he ranking 10^th nationally. On the glass, he pulls down 8.5 boards per game and has nine games of double digit rebounds.
 
Locking it Down: Tech is holding its opponents to just 66.7 points per game this year, the 11^th best mark in the land while holding its opponents to just 40.5% shooting, placing the Warriors in a tie for 14^th. Their three-point defense is just at stingy, limiting foes to 31.4% from downtown, placing them in a tie for 19^th in 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, 46-43, and the pair are third and tied for sixth in the country, respectively. Davis averages 2.3 blocks per game, the 10^th 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 (121) and second in blocks per game (6.1).
 
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 (19.5 ppg) and assists (3.0 apg) while hitting 43.3% of his three point attempts and pulling down 5.1 rebounds per game. He's also hitting 42.1% of his shots and is hitting his free throws at a 92.2% clip, the second best mark in the nation. He also ranks tied for 18^th in total three point field goals made (56), tied for 22^nd in total scoring (390), tied for 27^th in three point field goals made per game (2.8), and 31^st in points per game.
 
Cleaning up on the Glass: Dominique Walls has been a certified window cleaner for the Warriors this season, averaging a team-best 8.5 rebounds per game, 34^th in the nation. His 2.9 offensive rebounds per game places him 26^th in the country while his 169 total rebounds places him in a tie for 21^st.
 
This and That: Lavonte Davis had a season-high 12 rebounds against Michigan-Dearborn on Saturday…the Orange and Black turned the ball over a season-low seven time against the Wolverines…Miles Robinson had a career-high 29 points against Northwestern Ohio on Wednesday…Tech limited the Racers to just 10 free throw attempts, tying their season-low for the team…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, top-ranked Davenport (Jan. 23), No. 22 Aquinas (Feb. 6) and ninth-ranked Cornerstone (Feb. 17) while heading to No. 23 Rochester 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 season.