MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois hits the road again to face the two remaining undefeated teams in the Summit League this week. The Fighting Leathernecks open the road swing 6 p.m. central on Thursday night (Jan. 6) at IPFW, then at Oakland this Saturday (Jan. 8).
The game can be heard on the Leatherneck Sports Network and on the internet at www.GoLeathernecks.com. The pregame show will air 30 minutes prior to tip.
This weekend will also finish up Western's streak of playing five of six games away from Waste Management Court. The Leathernecks (6-7 overall, 1-2 Summit League) ended a three-game losing streak last weekend defeating Purdue Calumet 59-56. Kaimarr Price recorded his second double-double of the year, 14 points and season-high 13 rebounds. Matt Lander scored a game-high 19 points with four assists in 39 minutes. Jack Houpt added 13 points and four assists to no turnovers.
SUMMIT LEAGUE LEADERS: Western continues to lead the Summit League in scoring defense (59.8 ppg)... The Leathernecks also lead in field goal defense (.409) and 3-point FG defense (.269)... Western is tied for third in 3-point shooting (.385) and fourth for rebounding defense (33.7 rpg)... Individually Matt Lander ranks fourth in scoring (17.6 ppg), tied for 10th in assists (2.5 apg) and tied for ninth in 3-point shooting (42.9 percent)... Kaimarr Price is tied for eighth among the rebounding leaders averaging 6.5 and tied for sixth in blocked shots (1.0). The junior forward stands sixth with 2.5 offensive rebounds per game... Jelani Johnson moved up into a tie for seventh in steals (1.2).
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Western improved to sixth nationally in 3-point field goal defense, allowing opponents a 26.9 percent from beyond the arc... The Leathernecks are 26th in scoring defense (59.8)... Western is among the 'Top 50' in 3-point shooting, 48th at a 38.5 percent clip... The team enters this weekend 97th in field goal defense (40.9 percent) and 98th in turnovers (13.2 p/g).
FIRST HALF TELLING ALL: The first half has so far been the tell-tale sign of how the game will play out... Western is 5-0 when leading at the half, and 1-0 when the score is tied... However, the Leathernecks are 0-7 when trailing after the first 20 minutes.
TEAM NOTES: Western has committed 13 or fewer turnovers in five of the last seven games... The 20 percent shooting from 3-point range against Purdue Calumet was a season-low, however, the 28.6 3-point FG defense was the fifth time in last six games holding the opposition to under 30 percent... The Leathernecks are averaging 6.6 steals over the past five games... Western's 56 percent free throw shooting against PUC marked the fourth straight game under 60 percent at the line... Senior Arsenio Mims made his first start of the season against PUC... Matt Lander enters the IPFW game with 229 points. He scored 231 points in 30 games last year.
LANDER'S STREAK CONTINUES: Matt Lander continued his streak scoring in double-figures every game this season to date... He scored a team-leading 19 points versus Purdue Calumet, including three free throws in the final minute which proved to be the game-winners... Lander scored a career-high 24 points at Missouri and opened the season with 22 points against St. Francis... He had consecutive 21-point games earlier this month at home (Centenary and Culver-Stockton)... In fact, he has not scored less than 13 points in a game all year... Lander's 17.6 points per game puts him tied for fourth in the Summit League and 72nd nationally.
INJURY NOTES: After having just eight healthy players at IUPUI, Western got two back for the Purdue Calumet game... Emeka Okafor, Jr. grabbed two rebounds and scored a point in four minutes. He missed the IUPUI game with an ankle injury... Playing through a fractured thumb, Abdou Niang was able to give three minutes off the bench against Purdue Calumet and cleared away a rebound... Ceola Clark III missed his sixth straight game with a toe injury. He also missed a game in November due to an ankle injury... Billy Molinari has missed all but three minutes in the season-opener due to a foot injury... David Gebru will miss the remainder of the season due to a knee injury... In all Western players have combined to miss 27 games due to injuries.
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS: IPFW remained undefeated in Summit League play following a weekend road sweep at Oral Roberts and Centenary... The Mastodons defeated ORU by three then handed the Gents an 83-51 loss... Reigning Summit League Player of the Week Ben Botts scored 30 points, hitting eight 3-pointers, during the most recent win... Jeremy Mixon added 10 points and six assists off the bench... Jason Smeathers added 10 points and seven rebounds in his first start of the season... Frank Gaines chipped in 11 points... Overall Botts leads the scoring attack at 14.8 per game... Gaines (12.4), Zach Plackemeier (10.2) and Mixon (10.1) are also averaging in double-figures... IPFW is outscoring the opposition by more than seven points a game, and ranks second in the league shooting 75 percent from the free throw line and hitting 8.2 '3s' per game.
