MACOMB, Ill. - The Fighting Leathernecks enter the 2010 Summit League Tournament as the No. 7 seed and face No. 2 seeded IUPUI, Saturday, March 6 at 8:30 p.m. in Sioux Falls, S.D. The trip is the first postseason action for Western Illinois under second-year head coach Jim Molinari.

The last time Western Illinois made a league tournament appearance was in the 2007-08 season as they entered as the seventh seed. The Leathernecks have not entered postseason play higher than No. 7 since the 2004-05 season when they went in tied for fifth. The Leathernecks hold a 0-4 all-time record in tournament play as the No. 7 seed.

Western Illinois holds an overall tournament record of 11-22, with a 7-15 record in the first round, a 3-3 mark in the semifinals and a 1-3 record in the finals. The Leathernecks won their lone championship title in 1984.

The last time Western Illinois went to the league tournament and won in the first round was during the 1998-99 season when it defeated UMKC, 77-71.

The Leathernecks hold an 0-2 all-time record with IUPUI in league tournament action. The last time the teams faced each other in tournament play was during the 2005 season when the No. 5 Leathernecks were defeated by the No. 4 Jaguars, 70-62. The only other time the teams met, in 2003, No. 2 seeded IUPUI took a 75-51 victory over the No. 7 Leathernecks.

The only current Western Illinois player to ever compete in postseason play is David Nurse. As a sophomore, Nurse played 11 minutes of the first round in the 2008 Summit League Championships. The sixth-seeded Leathernecks lost 80-66 to No. 3 Oakland that season.

The Game
Who: No. 7 Western Illinois vs. No. 2 IUPUI
Date: Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tipoff: 8:30 p.m.
Location: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Arena: Sioux Falls Arena (6,300)

The Leatherneck Sports Network Broadcast
Radio • WIUS (88.3 FM, Macomb) Flagship station
Kyle Schassburger, play by play
Derek Diesner, color analyst

Web • GoLeathernecks.com

Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)

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Game Notes (Complete PDF game notes)

Clark Named Defensive Player of the Year; Earns First Team All-Conference
Western Illinois sophomore guard Ceola Clark was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Year in addition to earning the Fighting Leathernecks' first all-conference first team award in 10 years.

Clark becomes the first player in Western Illinois history to earn Summit League Defensive Player of the Year honors and the ninth player in program history to earn first team honors. The last time Western had a men's basketball player named first team all-conference was at the conclusion of the 1999-2000 season when Juan Martinez earned first team honors.

The Series
The all-time series between Western and IUPUI is the second-longest played series for the Leathernecks in current league play. Western Illinois trails 24-8 in the series with its last victory, Dec. 6, 2008. The 58-48 win at IUPUI was the first time since 2000 that the Leathernecks defeated the Jaguars. It ended a 19-game losing streak and was the first time Western won in the Jungle. Two of the losses in the losing streak came in tournament play. The Jaguars were successful in taking both regular-season games from the Leathernecks in 2009-10 regular season play. 

Scouting IUPUI
IUPUI's 50.9 field goal percentage ranks third in the nation as the Jaguars are led by the league's leading scorers Robert Glenn and Alex Young--both first team all-conference players. Glenn leads the league in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game (ranked 36th nationally) and Young sits just behind Glenn as he averages 18.8 points per game (ranked 50th nationally). Glenn's 58.7 field goal percentage ranks seventh in the nation.

As a team, the Jaguars rank 13th nationally for their steals per game, averaging 8.9. Billy Pettiford leads IUPUI as he ranks 26th nationally for his 2.1 steals per game average. Pettiford and Glenn combine to help the Jaguars on the boards as Glenn averages 6.4 rebounds a game and Pettiford pulls down 5.7 per game. 

A Nationally-Ranked Defense
The Leatherneck defense ranks 10th (of 334) in the nation this week as it holds opponents to only 59.6 points per game. In addition to holding the No. 1 scoring defensive team in the Summit League, Western Illinois is strong in defending field goals as they have held opponents to the lowest field goal percentage (39.6), which ranks 30th in the nation, and the lowest percentage from three-point range (31.1) in the league, which ranks 48th nationally. The Leathernecks have held opponents to 59 or less points in 15 games of the 2009-10 regular season. 

Record Watch: Steals
Leading the league in steals, Ceola Clark has 71 single-season steals and is four steals away from breaking Western Illinois' program record for steals in a single season. Averaging 2.7 steals a game, Clark ranks sixth in the nation. The sophomore guard has recorded a career-high six steals on two occasions, one this season and one last. With 121 career steals, Clark ranks fourth and is six away from tying the No. 3 spot.

Clark Leads the Offense
Having recorded 20 games with point totals in double figures this season, Ceola Clark has led the Leathernecks' scoring efforts in 15 games with five  games having 20 or more points. In league-only games, Clark holds the eighth-highest scoring average (15.0)  and leads the Leathernecks with a 14.0 season scoring average. As Western's offensive leader, Clark leads in nine statistical categories, to include points (364), scoring average (14.0), field goal attempts (249), field goals made (118), three-point percentage (40.2), free throw attempts (106), free throws made (81), assists (86) and steals (71). 

Off the Boards
James Granstra has pulled down the most rebounds for the Leathernecks with 153 this season and has helped Western to a rebounding advantage over its opponents in 13 games. Averaging 5.3 rebounds per game, Granstra has led off the boards nine times this season with a career-high 11 boards against Greenville College. Clark has also led off the boards nine times this season and sits behind Granstra in rebounding efforts as he averages 5.0 boards a game with 130 this season. Averaging 4.3 boards a game, Quenton Kirby has pulled down the third-most rebounds with 123.

Record Watch: Blocking Shots
Tied with IPFW's Deilvez Yearby for the second-most blocked shots in the league, James Granstra has 72 blocks this season to hold down the second-most in Western Illinois history. Sehlby Thurmond holds the record with 83 in a single season. Averaging 2.5 blocks per game, Granstra ranks N. 23 in NCAA stats for his blocked shots. Granstra has accumulated 96 blocked shots in his three-year career, for the third-most in Western's career record books. Janthony Joseph had 102 blocks in two seasons for the second-most.

Nurse for Three
Senior David Nurse's 61 three-point shots made this season is the most of any Western Illinois player for the 2009-10 season and the most in a single season at Western since the 2001-02 season when Quentin Mitchell had 75. Nurse sits in a tie for fifth-most threes made with IPFW's Ben Botts as they each average 2.1 threes a game. In Western's record books, Nurse has recorded the sixth-most three-point field goals in a single season. Two more threes will tie him for No. 5 and three more ties him for No. 4. In his three-year career as a Leatherneck, Nurse has accumulated 159 threes, the fourth-most in a career in program history. With 442 total attempts, Nurse holds the fourth-most number of attempts from beyond the arc in program history.

Strong First Half Needed
The Leathernecks are in need of a strong first half as they hold a 11-2 record when leading going into halftime. The Leathernecks recorded their second win when trailing at the half at Centenary with their first win when trailing at North Carolina Central as they hold a 2-13 record when trailing at the half. With 12 games decided by five or less points, the Leathernecks hold a 4-8 record in the close ones, having lost six league games by five points or less. 

Molinari Most Wins in Second Season Since 1978-79
Surpassing last year's win total (9) with 13 this season, Jim Molinari has recorded the most wins in his first two years as a head coach since Jack Margenthaler's second season in 1978-79. Molinari currently holds a 22-345 record at Western, while Margenthaler had a 28-25 record in his second season. In between the Margenthaler and Molinari years, Jim Kerwin served as head coach from 1992-2003 with a 15-39 record in his second season. Derek Thomas was head coach from 2003-08, having recorded a 14-39 record in his second season.