FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The #22nd-ranked Indiana Tech men's basketball team has won four straight games and seven of its last eight and looks to continue that streak this week with a pair of road games against Northwestern Ohio and Lawrence Tech.
 
#22 Indiana Tech (19-7, 14-4 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m. at Northwestern Ohio (8-18, 5-13 WHAC) Lima, Ohio (Racer Gymnasium)
Saturday, Feb. 13, 3 p.m. at Lawrence Tech (5-21, 4-14 WHAC) Southfield, Michigan (Don Ridler Field House)
 
Following the Warriors: Live stats and video for both games will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com. You can also follow @INTechMBB and @INTechWarriors on Twitter to stay up to date on the action.
 
Last Time Out: The Warriors completed the season sweep of #22 Aquinas on Saturday with a convincing 74-54 upset over the Saints for their fourth straight win. Miles Robinson led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, six assists, five steals and three rebounds. Dominique Walls recorded his second double-double in as many games with an 11 point, 15 rebound performance to go along with three assists and three blocks. Tanner Watkins and Milos Milidragovic also scored 11 points, with Milidragovic going 4-of-5 from the field to tie his season-high in points.
 
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: UNOH – The Racers have lost three straight games, most recently falling #11 Cornerstone on Saturday 79-63. Lawrence Jackson leads the team in scoring (19.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg). Trey Guilliam adds 8.2 points a game while shooting 42.1% from the three-point line.
 
Lawrence Tech – The Blue Devils host #1 Davenport on Wednesday before welcoming the Warriors this weekend, but have lost their last two games. Jon Harden leads the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game while Brad Watterworth adds 9.5 ppg on a team-high 56.4% shooting and leads the team in rebounding with 5.3 boards a game.
 
Series History: UNOH – The Warriors are 8-5 against their closest opponent in the WHAC and snapped a four-game losing streak against the Racers in the previous meeting on Jan. 13, a 62-59 victory at home. Miles Robinson had a 29 points and went 9-for-9 from the free throw line, including a perfect 4-for-4 in the final 30 seconds to ice the victory. He also added six rebounds and two assists. Dominique Walls had 13 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Tanner Watkins added 10 points off the bench while picking up deuces wild in rebounds, assists and steals. Lavonte Davis had six points while Tyrece Edwards chipped in four points, six steals and two steals.
 
Lawrence Tech – Tech is 7-0 against the Blue Devils, most recently winning 73-47 on Jan. 2. 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.
 
Walls Earns WHAC Award: Dominique Walls was named the WHAC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 12 points, 14.7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2.7 blocks in three Tech victories. He had two double-doubles and grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds against Marygrove while adding 20 points and three blocks. Against the 22^nd ranked Saints on Saturday he pulled down 15 rebounds and chipped in 11 points and three more blocks.
 
Looking Ahead: With their win against Aquinas on Saturday, the Orange and Black took sole possession of third place with just four games to go in the regular season. With games against defending national champion Cornerstone (Feb. 17) and Madonna (Feb. 20) looming next week, the next two games are crucial for seeding in the conference tournament. As it stands now Tech would host Michigan-Dearborn at the Schaefer Center on Wednesday, Feb. 24.
 
Twice as Nice: Miles Robinson was named the WHAC Player of the Week for the second week in a row on Jan. 25 after averaging 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, five assists and three steals against Lourdes and Davenport. Against the top-ranked Panthers he set career highs in points (30) rebounds (12) and steals (5) while getting his second double-double of the season. The Grand Rapids native scored 13 points against the Gray Wolves while collecting six assists and five rebounds.
 
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 jumped back into the polls this week (Feb. 9) at #22 with 89 votes. The Orange and Black first made an appearance this season back on Dec. 8 when they garnered three votes.
 
Mr. Everything: Miles Robinson has been among the most consistent players for the Warriors this year and his name appears everywhere on the box score. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native has scored in double digits in all but one game this season and he leads the team in scoring (19.3 ppg) and assists (3.3 apg) while hitting 42.5% of his shots, 39.1% of his three-point attempts and pulling down 5.4 rebounds per game. He's also a dead-eye shooter at the charity stripe, hitting 88.9% of his attempts, the fifth best mark in the nation and tops the WHAC.
 
Back at It: Junior forward Lavonte Davis return from injury has been huge for the Warriors this season and the Ypsilanti, Michigan native has been strong all year. He is tied for first on the team in blocks (2.4 bpg), second in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and third in scoring (9.7 ppg). He's been efficient when the ball is in his hands as well, hitting 52.2% of his shots while starting all 26 games and logging over 30 minutes a night.
 
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 11 double-doubles on the year, the most in the WHAC and is tied for 15^th nationally. He is second on the team in scoring at 14.5 ppg while shooting 58.6% from the field, the second best mark in the conference while ranking 18^th in the country. On the glass, he is pulling down 9.1 rebounds a night and has recorded double-digit rebounds in 13 games, including a career-high 18 against Marygrove.
 
Locking it Down: Tech is holding its opponents to just 65.6 points per game this year, the sixth best mark in the land while holding its opponents to just 39.9% shooting, placing the Warriors seventh. Their three-point defense is just at stingy, limiting foes to 32.5% from downtown, 25^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. As a team Tech leads the nation in total blocks (161) and second in blocks per game (6.2). Davis is second in blocks (63) nationally and fifth in blocks per game (2.42) while Walls is third (62) and fifth (2.38), respectively.
 
This and That: Tech set season-highs in field goals made (36), field goal attempts (75) and rebounds (50) against Marygrove…the 95 points the Warriors scored against the Mustangs was their second-highest total all season…the Orange and Black set season-lows in points allowed (45) and field goals made (15) against Rochester…Miles Robinson tied his season-high in steals against Aquinas with five…Tanner Watkins had a season-high in made threes against Marygrove with five…the Warriors have only had three players foul out this season.
 
Tough Sledding: The Warriors have faced off with eight teams that were ranked or receiving votes in any of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll: Davenport (#3 and #1), Saint Francis (#4), Cornerstone (#7), IU East (#10), Aquinas (#24), Grace (RV), Rochester (RV) and #22 Aquinas. #13 Cornerstone is the last ranked team remaining on their schedule.
 
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.