MACOMB, Ill. - Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball continues the non-league portion of their schedule Saturday evening (Nov. 17) when they head to Charleston, Ill. to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Lantz Arena.
LEATHERNECKS VS. PANTHERSÂ SERIES HISTORY (TIED 77-77): The Leathernecks have not faced any other team as many times as the Panthers... The all-time series is tied 77-77, and the Leathernecks have defeated the Panthers in the last five meetings between the two programs... Western defeated Eastern in the 2011-12 season, 64-48, at home... Then again during the 2012-13 season on the road, 57-45... During the 2013-14 season, 60-32, at home... In last season's home-and-home series, WIU defeated EIU 83-63 on the road on Nov. 21, and then again at home on Dec. 12, 64-57... According to Western Illinois records, the first-ever regular season meeting between the two teams took place on February 10, 1928 when Eastern defeated Western, 38-25... The two teams have met five times in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament when the Panthers were a member of the league... EIU leads that series 3-2... Four of those five meetings took place in the first round of the conference tournament, and the other game took place in the semifinals.
A LOOK AT EASTERN ILLINOIS: Eastern Illinois enters Saturday's weekend with a 1-2 record having most recently dropped a road contest at Saint Louis on Thursday night (Nov. 17) 74-69... The Panthers opened the season with a 83-41 win at home versus Saint Francis before falling at Troy 70-67... EIU is led by Montell Goodwin who is averaging 14.7 points per game... The Panthers also have three others players scoring 10 or more points per game: Cornell Johnston (12.3), Demetrius McReynolds (11.0) and Casey Teson (10.7)... Muusa Dama leads the Panthers in rebounds per game (11.3)... Johnston, who sits second on the team in points, leads the team with 4.7 assists per game... EIU is coached by Jay Spoonhour (Pittsburg State '94) who is in the midst of his fifth year at the helm and owns a 54-74 record... Overall as a head coach he is in his 10th year and has a 160-106 record.
THE LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois led for nearly all of the game but a pair of late Southeast Missouri runs helped the Redhawks capture a 74-71 victory inside Western Hall on Wednesday evening (Nov. 16). Garret Covington and Jabari Sandifer, both seniors, each finished with 19 points. Covington made 6-of-13 attempts from the field and 5-of-10 from long range, but was uncharacteristic from the free throw line, making only 2-of-5 attempts. He also grabbed seven rebounds and two assists. Sandifer shot 5-of-10 from the floor, added one triple and went 8-of-11 from the charity stripe. He also pulled down five boards and finished with a team-best three helpers. Dalan Ancrum was the only other Leatherneck to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points while also leading the team with nine rebounds.
AS A TEAM IN THE NATION (as of 11/16): As a team, the Leathernecks rank: #24 in total blocks (15)... #25 in total 3-pointers made (24)... #29 in total assists (45)... #32 personal fouls per game (15.7)... #45 in total rebounds (111)... #61 in total seals (19)... #70 in blocks per game (5.0).
INDIVIDUALS IN THE NATION (as of 11/16): Garret Covington ranks #3 in 3-pointers made (12),  #24 in 3-point field goals per game (4.0), #86 in total minutes played (546) and #91 in total field goals made (16)... Brandon Gilbeck ranks #19 in total blocks (7) and #78 in blocked shots per game (2.3).
AT HOME: Western is 45-24 (.652) inside Western Hall since the beginning of the 2011-12 season... The Leathernecks went 10-4 (.714) during their 2011-12 campaign, 12-2 (.857) during the 2012-13 league slate, 7-5 in 2013-14 (.583), 8-6 (.571) in 2014-15, 7-6 (.500) in 2015-16, and WIU is 1-1 on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court inside Western Hall so far this season.
ON THE ROAD: WIU is 17-54 (.239) on the road since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, and 3-35 (.079) since the beginning of the 2014-15 season... The Leathernecks went 6-10 (.375) in 2011-12, they were above .500 in 2012-13 with a 7-6 (.538) road mark, struggled again during the 2013-14 season with a 1-13 (.071) record on the road, went 0-13 (.000) in 2014-15, and finished the 2015-16 season 3-11 on the road... So far this season WIU is 0-1 on the road.
COVINGTON'S OFF THE COURT: Western Illinois men's basketball senior guard Garret Covington will be even busier than in years past this coming academic year as he is serving as The Summit League's representative on the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and be The Summit League's SAAC President. On top of his added responsibilities, the Edwardsville, Ill. native is also a member of WIU's SAAC and Student Government Association. Covington also represented The Summit League in the NCAA's Leadership Forum this last spring. Covington was elected as president at the Summit League's during the annual SAAC meetings on July 22-24, which was held at the league office in Elmhurst, Ill. The committee's responsibilities include leading the league SAAC meetings along with overseeing the execution of the year's SAAC agenda. |
