FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The (RV) Indiana Tech men's basketball team looks to continue its eight-game winning streak this week then they host defending national champion and fifth ranked Cornerstone on Wednesday before facing off with Madonna on the road Saturday.
 
(RV) Indiana Tech (12-4, 8-1 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Jan. 6, 8 p.m. vs. #5 Cornerstone (12-3, 7-1 WHAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
Saturday, Jan. 9, 3 p.m. at Madonna (6-11, 3-6 WHAC) – Livonia, Michigan (The Activities Center)
 
Following the Warriors: Live video and stats will be available at for the Cornerstone game 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 Warriors won their eighth game in a row, as well as eighth straight in conference play, on Saturday as they defeated Lawrence Tech 73-47. Miles Robinson led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and dished out a team-high five assists. Dominique Walls and Tanner Watkins each added 16 points apiece, with Walls shooting 6-of-11 from the field and Watkins hitting four three pointers. Walls also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds while picking up four steals and two blocks. Watkins tallied four assists as well. Lavonte Davis chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, two steals and a pair of 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: Cornerstone – The Golden Eagles come to the Schaefer Center riding a four-game conference win streak, most recently defeating Marygrove on Saturday, 111-62. The defending national champions sit at fifth in the current NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, with their losses coming to then-second ranked Indiana Wesleyan, then (RV) Aquinas and No. 2 Saint Francis (Ill.). Kyle Steigenga leads the team in scoring with 20.5 points per game, good for second in the WHAC, while hitting 65.9% of his shots and pulling down 6.9 rebounds a game. Ben Lanning leads the team on the glass with 8.8 boards per game while averaging 16.4 points a contest.
 
Madonna – The Crusaders have won their last two games in a row, most recently winning at Lourdes, 78-73. Chris Dierker leads the team in scoring (13.2 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg) and is shooting 46.2% from the floor. Khalil Malone is averaging a team-best 2.8 assists a game while pouring in 11.6 points a contest and grabbing 4.6 boards a night.
 
Series History: Cornerstone – Tech is 10-26 against the Golden Eagles since Jan. 19, 2002, having lost their last seven games in the series.
 
Madonna – The Warriors are 14-11 against the Crusaders since Jan. 11, 2006, most recently splitting the season series a year ago. Both sides held serve on their home court, with Tech winning the first matchup 72-65 on Jan. 3 and Madonna winning 78-62 on Feb. 21 to keep the Warriors out of the WHAC Tournament and ending their season.
 
Just Win Baby: Tech's eight-game winning streak is the teams longest since the 2013-14 campaign, when the Orange and Black also rattled off eight straight wins. The Warriors won nine straight games in the 2010-11 season and had a 10-game run during the 2007-08 year. The Warriors eight-game winning streak in conference play is the longest since the 2007-08 campaign, when Tech won seven straight WHAC games to end the regular season.
 
Atop the Standings: With the Warriors win on Saturday, coupled with a Davenport loss to Aquinas, Tech finds itself all alone in first place in the WHAC. They lead the Grand Rapids trio (Aquinas, Cornerstone and Davenport) by a half-game heading into this week of games, with the rematches against the Panthers (Jan. 23) and Saints (Feb. 6) still to come. Tech will travel to Cornerstone on Feb. 17 for their final road game of the regular season.
 
Something's got to Give: Tech is 5-0 in conference games played at the Schaefer Center this season, while Cornerstone is 5-0 on the road in WHAC games. The Golden Eagles lone loss in conference play came at home to crosstown rival (RV) Aquinas, with Jake Bullock hitting a three pointer at the buzzer to win the game.
 
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, 39-37, and the pair are third and tied for fourth in the country, respectively. Davis is eighth in the country in blocks per game (2.4) while Walls is 10^th and averaging 2.3 blocks per game. As a team the Warriors are first in the nation in total blocks (102) and second in blocks per game (6.4).
 
Mr. Everything: Miles Robinson has been among the most consistent players for Coach Peckinpaugh this year. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native has scored in double digits in all but one game this season. Robinson leads the team in scoring (18.3 ppg) and assists (3.1 apg) while shooting 44.0% of his three point attempts and pulling down 5.2 rebounds per game. He's also hitting 43.1% of his shots and is hitting his free throws at a 90.2% clip, the fourth best mark in the nation. He also ranks tied for 22^nd in total three point field goals made (44), tied for 33^rd in total scoring (292), 36^th in three point field goals made per game (2.8) and 48^th 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 8.4 rebounds per game, tied for 34^th in the nation. His 2.8 offensive rebounds per game is tied 33^rd in the country while his 125 total rebounds places him in a tie for 23^rd. As a team, Tech is 40^th in defensive rebounds per game (28.2) and 46^th in total rebounding (605).
 
This and That: The Warriors had a season-high 13 steals in the win over Lawrence Tech on Jan. 2…Tech tied its season high in made field goals with 31 against Ohio Christian on Dec. 29 while scoring 91 points, its second most all year…the Orange and Black committed a season-low 10 fouls in the win over Grace on Dec. 30…Tech only allowed 47 points in the win over the Blue Devils, the fewest points a team has scored against the Warriors all year…the Warriors have only had one player 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 and (RV) Grace. Tech is 2-3 in those games and will take on fifth-ranked Cornerstone on Jan. 6 while hoping for better results in their rematches against third ranked Davenport (Jan. 23) and No. 21 Rochester (Feb. 1). The rematch against No. 24 Aquinas is scheduled for 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 Community College) will redshirt this season.