MACOMB, Ill. -Â The Western Illinois men's basketball team (6-5, 1-2) will play host to the South Dakota Coyotes (5-8, 0-4) in Summit League action Tuesday evening (Jan. 3) with tipoff slated for 7 p.m.Â
The Breakdown
Who: Western Illinois (6-5, 1-2) vs. South Dakota (5-8, 0-4)
When: Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.
Where: Macomb, Illinois
Arena: Waste Management Court at Western Hall (5,139)
Live Stats: HERE
Radio
Leatherneck Sports Network (88.3 FM)
Radio Talent: Beau Spencer (play-by-play) & Adam Studzinski (color)
Listen HERE
Video
Rocky Vision
Video Talent: Aaron Viner (play-by-play) & Andrew Jones (color)
Watch HERE
A LOOK AT SOUTH DAKOTA: South Dakota, the newest member of The Summit League, enters Tuesday night's game with a 5-8 overall mark, and a 0-4 league record...The Coyotes most recently dropped their fourth Summit League contest of the season to Oral Roberts...South Dakota cut an 18-point deficit to four in the second half, but the Coyotes' rally fell short in a 79-67 loss to Oral Roberts in Summit League action Friday night in Vermillion, S.D...The Coyotes, who were led by a career-high 20 points from junior Allen Saint-Gelais, fell to 5-8 overall and 0-4 in the Summit League, while Oral Roberts improved to 11-4 overall and 3-0 in the Summit League..Three of South Dakota's players are averaging in the double figures: Charlie Westbrook (16.3), Louie Krogman (15.5), and Trevor Gruis (11.4)...Three Coyotes are shooting above 50% from the floor in Gruis (53.9), Steve Tecker (56.0), and Richardo Andreotti (56.0)...Andreotti also owns the most rebounds per game (5.8)...South Dakota has been outscored by its opponents 72.0-74.1 per game this season.
LEADER OF THE COYOTES: The Coyotes are coached by Dave Boots (Augsburg '79)...Boots is in the midst of his 24th season with the Coyotes and has a 488-205 record at USD, while posting a 603-267 career mark. SOUTH DAKOTA PROBABLE STARTERS   PPG   RPG   APG   FG%   FT%   MIN G #1    Charlie Westbrook (6-4 Sr.)    16.3    3.5    2.3   44.0   78.6   30.8
G #4 Â Â Â Louie Krogman (6-1 Sr.) Â Â Â 15.5Â Â Â 3.3Â Â Â 3.6Â Â Â 43.6Â Â Â 69.8Â Â Â 35.2
G #3 Â Â Â Steve Tecker (6-4 So.)Â 6.1Â Â Â 4.1Â Â Â 1.5Â Â Â 56.0Â Â Â 76.2Â Â Â 21.0
F Â Â Â #14 Â Â Â Richardo Andreotti (6-8 Sr.) Â Â Â 3.6Â Â Â 5.8Â Â Â 0.7Â Â Â 56.0Â Â Â 50.0Â Â Â 19.4
C #50 Â Â Â Trevor Gruis (6-9 So.) Â Â Â 11.4Â Â Â 5.4Â Â Â 0.5Â Â Â 53.9Â Â Â 67.9Â Â Â 27.6
THE SERIES: Tuesday night's contest is the third time the two programs have faced one another...The Coyotes own a 2-0 mark over the Leathernecks...The team meetings came in back-to-back seasons, first in 1969-70 when USD downed Western 82-74, then in 1970-71 when the Leathernecks were defeated 83-82. WHAT'S IN A WIN?: A win would mark the team's 1,191th victory in program history...A win would mark head coach Jim Molinari's 36th victory at Western, and his 259th career victory...A win would mark Western's first-ever against South Dakota. TIME WELL SPENT: Senior point guard Ceola Clark III averages 36.0 minutes per game, more than anyone else in the Summit League. TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK: The Leathernecks have committed 10 or less turnovers in four of their 5 games this season (5 vs. Eastern Illinois, 6 at UIC, 8 vs. Eureka, and 9 at IUPUI)...They had back-to-back games with a total of 11 (five versus Eastern Illinois on Dec. 10th, six against UIC on Dec. 19th)...Last season the Leathernecks played back-to-back games with only 11 turnovers, committing only four on Dec. 8th against Culver Stockton and seven at Eastern Illinois Dec. 11th. MORE TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK: As a team, Western has averaged just 11.1 turnovers per game which ranks 15th in the nation. TOP-TEN NATIONALLY: Junior forward Terell Parks ranks 8th in the nation in field goal percentage with a 64.4 percentage, the fourth straight week he has ranked in the top-10 nationally...Earlier this season in the NCAA's release of stats on Nov. 27th, freshman forward Obi Emegano ranked third nationally with a 74.1 percentage. MAKING 'EM COUNT: Junior Terell Parks, freshman guard Remy Roberts-Burnett, and freshman Obi Emegano have been making the most of their shot attempts this season...Emegano has taken a team-high 99 shots...Parks has made 56 of his 87 attempts for a 64.4 shooting percentage...Emegano has made 57 of his 99 attempts for a 57.6 shooting percentage...Roberts-Burnett has taken 57 shots and made 30 of them for a 52.6 shooting percentage...Parks ranks second in the Summit League, Emegano ranks fifth, and Roberts-Burnett ranks 11th. ONLY TEAM IN THE NATION: In the NCAA's most recent release of statistics, two Leathernecks rank in the top-25 (Parks and Emegano)...Western is the only team in the nation to have two players in the top-25. 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 154, and 11th in career assists with 235. STEALS (DIVISION I)   Year 1. 167 Bill Heisler   1997-01
2. 154 Ceola Clark IIIÂ Â Â 2009-pr
3. 138 Andre Humphrey   1993-95
4. 127 David Jackson   2004-08
5. 115 Eric Chinn                     1986-88 ASSISTS   Year
1. 506 Dwayne Banks   1977-80
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10. 242 Joe Dykstra   1978-83
12. 233 Brian Williams   2000-01
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SWIPIN' AND DISHIN' (CONTINUED): Senior point guard Ceola Clark III has averaged 4.6 assists per game, which ranks 85th nationally...He has averaged 1.8 steals per game which ranks 90th nationally...He ranks fifth in The Summit League in both categories.RPI: The NCAA released its first Division I RPI rankings and Western ranked 159th nationally.
6-OF-8 A WIN: In the Leathernecks' last eight games they have earned six victories, an accomplishment they had not achieved since the 2001-02 season. ONE-POINT LOSS: The Leathernecks have lost a total of five games this season, two of which were decided by only one point...One of Western's other losses, to Michigan on the road, was decided by only four points. FROM DOWNTOWN: Senior point guard Ceola Clark III has shot 58 three-pointers this season and made 28 of them, connecting on 48.3 percent of his three-point attempts, which ranks second in the Summit League and 13 in the nation...Clark averages 2.8 three-point field goals per game, which ranks second in the league and 38th in the nation. SINGLE-GAMES: On Dec. 10th against Eastern Illinois, Clark tied a Western Illinois single-game record by making six consecutive from beyond the arch...In Western's following game at UIC on Dec. 19th, Clark hit his first four threes of the game, and missed only one, going 4-for-5 from downtown...He then made 4-of-6 the next game against North Dakota on Dec. 22. DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Junior forward Terell Parks leads the Leathernecks with four double-doubles this season...Parks is the only Leatherneck to have recorded a double-double on the year...After his 14 points and 15 rebounds against NDSU on Dec. 1st, Parks averaged a double-double for nearly a month...He was one rebound away from a double-double three times and two rebounds away two times...He enters Tuesday night's game averaging 12.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. DOUBLE-FIGURES: Junior forward Terell Parks, senior guard Ceola Clark III, and freshman forward Obi Emegano have been a force in the scoring department for Western this season...Emegano has been the leading scorer in five of Western's games...Parks has scored in the double-figures in all but two games this season, while both Clark and Emegano have scored 10 or more in seven of the team's 10 games. TOP-50 AS A TEAM IN THE NATION: In the NCAA's most recent release of stats, the Leathernecks rank in the top-50 of five categories...Those include 15th in turnovers per game (11.1), 36th in scoring defense (59.4), 41st in assist/turnover ratio (1.18), 44th in personal fouls per game (16.2), and 48th in turnover margin (2.9).  MORE IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: In games through Dec. 28th, senior guard Ceola Clark's 6-of-7 (82.7%) of behind the arch on Dec.10th vs. Eastern Illinois is the best single-game percentage in the Summit League...Junior forward Terell Parks' two 15-rebound single-game performances (vs. Greenville College on Nov. 22 and vs. NDSU Dec. 1) rank second in the league...As a team, Western's 54-rebound performance in their game versus Greenville on Nov. 22 is a Summit League best...Their single-game low of five turnovers versus Eastern Illinois on Dec. 10th is a league best. Â
GRABBIN' BOARDS: Junior forward Terell Parks has pulled down a team-best 104 rebounds this season (9.5 per game)...30 of them offensive and 74 of them defensive...He has been the top rebounder in nine of the team's 11 games 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..Parks ranks in the top-7 of all Summit League rebounding categories: first in overall rebounds (9.5 per game), first in defensive rebounds (6.7 per game) and in seventh offensive rebounds (2.7 per game).
MORE PARKS ON THE GLASS: Parks' 9.5 rebounds per game ranks tied for 36th nationally. LEADING THE WAY: Leading the Leathernecks in points per game is freshman forward Obi Emegano and junior forward Terell Parks who are each averaging 13.5 and 12.8 points per game, respectively...The only other Leatherneck that is averaging in the double-figures is senior guard Ceola Clark III who is averaging 11.9 points per game...Clark owns the most assists on the team with 46 (4.6 per game)...Clark (28) has connected on the most three-point shots this season...Parks' 9.5 rebounds per game is a team-best...Parks also leads the team in field goal percentage, having made 56-of-87 (64.4 percent) from the floor...Clark leads the team in three-point field goal percentage (48.3), Tyler leads the team in free throw percentage, having made 33-of-42 (78.6 percent) from the stripe...Seniors Clark and Tyler are averaging the most minutes per game having averaged 36.0 and 32.5 minutes, respectively. LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks men's basketball team (6-5, 1-2) went into halftime down by four, but a 16-2 Jaguar run to open the second was to much for the Leathernecks as they fell to IUPUI (7-8, 1-2) 75-68 Friday evening in Indianapolis. After IUPUI's 16-2 run, the Leathernecks battled late, putting a 11-0 run of its own to get within six points. That wouldn't be enough, however, as the Jaguars made free throws and played stingy defense on their way to a league victory. Western suffers is second league loss of the season and falls to 6-5 overall, while IUPUI picks up its first Summit League victory of the year and improves to 7-8 overall on the year. All but two of the Leathernecks' points came from four players, as junior forward Terell Parks (19), freshman forward Obi Emegano (17), senior guard Tommie Tyler (16), and senior guard Ceola Clark III (14) all finished in the double-figures. Parks finished with a game-high nine rebounds and three blacks, while Clark tallied a team-high four assists. 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...That total is the most of any Summit League team has totaled in a single game this season. 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. WHAT IS A LEATHERNECK?: Western Illinois holds the distinction of being the only non-military institution to officially have its nickname derived from a branch of the military service. The school began use of the Marine Corps' official nickname, "The Fighting Leathernecks," in 1927 when then-athletic director and head baseball, basketball and football coach Ray "Rock" Hanson was granted permission by the U.S. Navy, based on his status as a Marine hero, to use the Marine's official seal, bulldog mascot and nickname. UP NEXT: The Leathernecks will continue Summit League play on the road, facing Oakland on Thursday (Jan. 5) and IPFW on Saturday (Jan. 7)...The Western/Oakland contest will begin at 6 p.m. and the game at IPFW will begin at 1:30 p.m. Â
