MACOMB, Ill. - After opening Summit League action at home last weekend, the Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball team (3-3) will play host to nonconference opponent Eastern Illinois (6-2)...Western fans are encouraged to 'Occupy Western Hall' and wear purple as they cheer the Leathernecks on to victory...Western will also honor the 2011 men's soccer team as they earned both the Summit League regular season and tournament titles this past season...Western and Eastern are set to tipoff at 7 p.m. at Waste Management Court inside of Western Hall. 

The Breakdown
Who: Western Illinois (3-3) vs. Eastern Illinois (6-2)
When: Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.
Where: Macomb, Illinois
Arena: Waste Management Court (3,300)
Live Stats: HERE

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ON TAP: After opening Summit League action at home last weekend, the Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball team (3-3) will play host to nonconference opponent Eastern Illinois (6-2)...Western fans are encouraged to 'Occupy Western Hall' and wear purple as they cheer the Leathernecks on to victory...Western will also honor the 2011 men's soccer team as they earned both the Summit League regular season and tournament titles this past season...Western and Eastern are set to tipoff at 7 p.m. at Waste Management Court inside of Western Hall.

A LOOK AT EASTERN ILLINOIS: The Eastern Illinois Panthers enter Saturday night's game with a 6-2 overall record...This past Wednesday evening (Dec. 7), Eastern Illinois shot a blistering 76 percent in the first half as the Panthers cruised to their third straight victory with an 83-67 win over Oakland City University with senior guard L.C. Doss leading the way with 21 points and five steals...Through the team's first eight games, senior guard Jeremy Granger (17.0), sophomore forward Alfonzo McKinnie (11.6), and freshman guard Joey Miller lead the Panthers, each having averaged in double-figures...Freshman forward Josh Piper is the owner of a team-best field goal percentage, having shot 60.5 percent from the floor, while Granger lead the Panthers from the charity stripe having shot 89.5 percent...McKinnie leads the team in rebounds per game with a 7.9 average...As a team, Eastern Illinois has outscored its opponents, 627-574...The Panthers have shot 47.0 percent from the floor so far this season, 34.5 percent from behind the arch, and 74.4 percent from the stripe...Eastern Illinois is coached by Mike Miller (East Texas State '87) who is in his seventh season at the helm and owns a 69-115 record while coaching the Panthers.

THE SERIES: Heading into Saturday night's game, the Leathernecks trail the Panthers in the all-time series, 75-77...The two teams first met in the 1927-28 season when the Panthers defeated Western,  38-25 in the first game between the two teams, followed by a Leatherneck victory by a score of 39-28..Last season the Leathernecks fell to the Panthers on the road, 61-58.

WHAT'S IN A WIN?: A win would mark the team's 1,188th victory in program history...A win would mark head coach Jim Molinari's 33rd victory at Western, and 256th career victory...A win would be Western's fourth in the last five games, something that has not been done since the end of the 2009-10 season.

SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Earning his first career award in his first year at Western, junior newcomer Terell Parks was named the Papa John's Scholar-Athlete of the Week on December fifth  for his performance on the court and in the classroom the prior week...Parks carries a 3.5 GPA in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Junior forward Terell Parks leads the Leathernecks with three double-doubles this season...Parks is the only Leatherneck to have recorded a double-double this season...After his 14 points and 15 rebounds against NDSU on Dec. 1, Parks is now averaging a double-double per game, 12.3 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game.

GRABBIN' BOARDS: Junior forward Terell Parks has pulled down a team-best 62 rebounds  this season (10.3 per game)...19 of them offensive and 43 of them defensive...He has been the top rebounder in all but one game this season, and pulled down a season-high 15 twice, first on Nov. 22 vs. Greenville, and then on Dec. 1 vs. North Dakota State...As of December 7th, he ranks in the top five of all Summit League rebounding categories: second in overall rebounds (10.3 per game), second in defensive rebounds (7.2 per game). and fifth in offensive rebounds (3.2 per game).

MORE PARKS ON THE GLASS: Through December 5th, Parks' 10.3 rebounds per game also ranks tied for 23rd nationally.

SWIPIN' AND DISHIN': Senior point guard Ceola Clark III has been racking up assists and steals  since the beginning of his career at Western...He currently sits second in career steals with 145, and 14th in career assists with 217.

DISHIN' (CONTINUED): Through December 5th senior point guard Ceola Clark III has averaged 5.6 assists per game, which ranks 37th nationally.

UP NEXT: After playing their last three games at home, the Leathernecks will hit the road for one contest before returning home for two more games...Western will travel to Chicago, Illinois to face Illinois Chicago on Dec. 19th with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.

MAKING 'EM COUNT: Both freshman Obi Emegano and junior Terell Parks are making the most of their shot attempts...Emegano has taken a team-high 51 shots and made 32 of them for a 62.7 shooting percentage...Parks has taken 48 shots and made 31 of them for a team-best 64.6 shooting percentage...Parks ranks second in the Summit League, while Emegano ranks third...Through December 7th, the last NCAA stats to be released, both Parks (#11) and Emegano (#15) ranked in the top-15 nationally.

LEADING THE WAY: Leading the Leathernecks in points per game is freshman Obi Emegano and junior forward Terell Parks, who are averaging 14.0 and 12.3, respectively...The only other Western player that is averaging close to double-figures is senior guard Ceola Clark III (9.8)...Clark owns the most assists on the team with 28 (5.6 per game)...Three Leathernecks have made more than one three-pointer on the year, Clark (9), junior forward Jack Houpt (9), and senior guard Tommie Tyler (3)...Parks' 10.3 rebounds per game is a team-best...Parks also leads the team in field goal percentage, having made 31-of-48 (64.6 percent) from the floor...Tyler leads the team in free throw percentage, having made 14-of-18 (77.8 percent) from the stripe...Seniors Clark and Tyler are averaging the most minutes per game having averaged 35.4 and 32.3 minutes, respectively.

LAST TIME OUT: The Western Illinois men's basketball squad fell to South Dakota State in a one-point thriller Saturday evening at home,  67-66. The two teams battled back-and-forth the entire game, but in the end it was the Jackrabbits who pulled out the victory. The Summit League contest came down to the wire, and for all those who came to Western Hall to watch, excitement wasn't lacking. As head coach Jim Molinari it put it, "it was a heck of a college game. Give South Dakota State credit, they made the plays when they had to, and I thought they did a good job," said coach Molinari. "I think they got to the foul line, they do a good job using their body, and they hit some big shots. I thought our guys fought like crazy.  We're picked tenth they're picked third or fourth.  We gave ourselves a chance to win." Freshmen Obi Emegano and Remy Roberts-Burnett sparked the Leathernecks' offensive attack, with Emegano tallying a game-high 17 points, 11 of which came in the second half, while Roberts-Burnett dropped a career-high 16 on the Jackrabbits, finishing 8-of-10 from the floor. Senior guard Ceola Clark III was the other Leatherneck to finish in double-figures with 10. Clark also led the team in three other categories, rebounds (9), assists (seven) and steals (3). "I thought Obi (Emegano) and Remy (Roberts-Burnett) obviously did a great job," said coach Molinari. "I thought Ceola (Clark) played a tremendous floor game.  Played 39 minutes and kept us in the game. There's not a guard in the league I'd trade him for."

50-PLUS REBOUNDS: On November 22, 2011, the Leathernecks pulled down 54 rebounds as a team, the most since November 21st of 2006 against IPFW when they had 51, a Summit League Game-High.

INJURY REPORT: Sophomore guard Billy Molinari suffered a season-ending knee injury in Western's second game of the season at Michigan on November 17th...After redshirting his freshman season two years ago, Molinari suffered a season-ending foot injury last season in the team's season-opener.

2011-12 EXHIBITION ACTION: The Western Illinois men's basketball squad defeated the Illinois College Blueboys in an exhibition game Wednesday evening (Nov. 9) at Waste Management Court in Western Hall, 70-62. Three Leathernecks scored double-figures in the game, with senior guard Tommie Tyler posting a team-high 19 points, while also dishing out a team-best five helpers. Freshman guard Remy Roberts-Burnett finished the game with 16 points, while junior forward Terell Parks scored 10 points and finished with a team-high 10 boards.

PRESEASON POLL: Western Illinois senior guard Ceola Clark III was tabbed preseason Second Team All-Summit League as announced by the Summit League office on Oct. 13th...As a team, the Leathernecks were picked to finished ninth in the league...Oral Roberts (473 points) received 27-of-32 first-place votes and was tabbed as the favorite to win the 2011-12 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship...Two-time defending champion Oakland (423 points) received four first-place votes and finished second in the poll...IUPUI forward Alex Young was the preseason choice for 'Player of the Year'...The 2011-12 preseason All-League teams and team rankings were voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and media members.

OTHER PRESEASON HONORS: Western Illinois senior guard Ceola Clark III was also tabbed First Team All-Summit League by Athlon Sports in their 2011-12 College Basketball issue...Athlon's Sports also predicted the Leathernecks to finish eighth in the Summit League.

MORE RECOGNITION FOR CLARK: ESPN Chicago writer and blogger Scott Powers ranked his 'Top 30' college basketball players in Illinois earlier this month, and Western Illinois senior guard Ceola Clark III was listed 12th.

A FRESH START: Western Illinois took part in its first official practice on October 14th inside of Western Hall...The Leathernecks return five letterwinners, including three starters from last year's 7-23 team that ended its injury-plagued season ninth in the Summit League, and welcome six newcomers to the squad.

2011-12 SENIOR CLASS: This season will be the last for two Leatherneck men's basketball players...Guards Ceola Clark III joined the Leatherneck family in 2007 and was redshirted his freshman season, while Tommie Tyler joined the team in 2008...Both have already had very successful careers at Western.

RETURNERS: This season, senior guard Ceola Clark III returns to the team after playing in only six games a year ago due to injury. Along with Clark, Western will welcome back senior guard Tommie Tyler, junior forward Jack Houpt, sophomore center David Gebru and sophomore guard Billy Molinari. Clark III, Molinari, Tyler and Gebru played a combined 32 games last season due to injuries.

NEWCOMERS: This offseason coach Molinari and the Leathernecks were able to land a pair of JUCO All-Americans in Don McAvoy III and Terell Parks, and sign four freshmen in Obi Emegano,  Jeremy McDonald, Jalen Packer and Remy Roberts-Burnett.