MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois (2-4) continues its road swing Tuesday evening (Nov. 29) at American University in Washington, D.C... The Leathernecks and Eagles (0-5) are slated to tipoff at 6:30 p.m. (CT) and the nonconference tilt is slated to be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
OPENING TIP
- The Leathernecks most recently dropped a road contest at Miami (Ohio) this past Saturday, 81-72... Western led for nearly all of the first half and built its lead up to 10 points early in the second half, but Miami used a 25-5 run late to regain the lead and eventually defeat WIU... Garret Covington scored a season-high 29 points.
- Mike Miklusak played his first game of the season and recorded the team's first double-double of the season in 36 minutes of action... The senior scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds... It marked Miklusak's second career double-double.
- Covington leads WIU in scoring, averaging 21.3 points per game... He has scored 15-plus points in all five games this season, and 20-plus points in each of WIU's last three games (22 at EIU | 26 vs. Crown | 29 at Miami).
- Covington, who most recently jumped into the Top 10 of WIU's career scoring list (1,467 points), is six points away from moving into eighth place, 30 points from moving into seventh, and 42 away from sixth... Covington, who also ranks second all-time in career 3-pointers (232 threes), is only 16 triples away from being the program's all-time leader.
- Senior guard Jabari Sandifer has 354 career assists and is eight away from moving into the Top 3 in WIU's program history.
SERIES HISTORY: Tuesday's meeting is the first ever between the two programs.
A LOOK AT THE AMERICAN EAGLES: The American Eagles, members of the Patriot League, are 0-5 overall on the season with losses at Maryland, at Texas A&M, at Akron, and then at home versus Wagner and St. Francis (Pa.)... The Eagles are led by Sa'eed Nelson who leads the team in points (15.8), assists (2.6) and steals (2.4) per game... Mark Gasperini leads American in rebounds per game (5.2)... Leon Tolksdorf averages a team-best 0.8 blocks per game... American's head coach is Mike Brennan and is in the midst of his fourth season at the helm... He owns a 49-53 record at American.
WHAT'S NEXT?: Western returns home for its final two home nonconference games... The Leathernecks play host to Chicago State at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, before playing the back end of their home-and-home series with Eastern Illinois inside Western Hall on Saturday, Dec. 10. Both games are slated to air live on ESPN3.
THE LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois senior guard Garret Covington scored a season-high 29 points and jumps into the Top 10 of WIU's career scoring list during the Leathernecks' 81-72 loss at Miami University last Saturday (Nov. 26). Western led for nearly all of the first half and built its lead up to 10 points early in the second half, but Miami used a 25-5 run late to regain the lead and improve to 3-3 on the season. The Leathernecks drop to 2-4 on the season after the loss. Besides Covington, Mike Miklusak and C.J. Duff each scored in double figures. Miklusak finished with 14 points and recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds, while Duff finished with 12 points all via the 3-point shot (4-of-8). Both Miklusak and Duff each tallied a team-best three steals. Jabari Sandifer, who missed WIU's previous game due to injury, returned to the court and finished with a team-high six assists.
COVINGTON SCORING AND THREES: Over the last three seasons, one constant for the WIU men's basketball team has been Garret Covington as the team's leader in multiple stat categories, most notably points and 3-pointers... His scoring average increased every year through his first three seasons, and so far during his senior season: freshman- 14.6, sophomore- 15.5, junior- 17.9, senior- 21.3... During his freshman season he made 70 triples (38.7 shooting percentage)... As a sophomore he made 63 shots from long range (35.6 shooting percentage)... As a junior he has made 77 threes (42.3 shooting percentage)... So far as a senior he has made 22 (40.7 shooting percentage).
COVINGTON IN DOUBLE FIGURES: Covington, who has only missed one career game (injury as a freshman), has scored 10-plus points in 15 straight games dating back to last season and in 35 of his last 36 games dating back to his sophomore year... He has scored in double figures in 74 of his 90 career games.
TOP ALL-TIME: Garret Covington sits ninth all-time in Western Illinois career scoring with 1,467 points... He is six points away from passing Ceola Clark III (1,472) and taking sole possession of eighth place... If Covington passes Clark, he will be the program's leader in points during the NCAA Division I era... He is 30 points away from passing Chuck Schramm (1,496) for seventh place all-time and 42 points away from passing Brad Bainter (1,508) for sixth all-time... Covington is only 33 points away from becoming only he seventh player in program history to score 1,500 points.
1. 2,248 Joe Dykstra (1978-83)
2. 2,128 Coleman Carrodine (1960-64)
3. 1,577 Bob Anderson (1966-69)
4. 1,555 Dwayne Banks (1977-81)
5. 1,524 Marshall Stoner (1952-56)
6. 1,508 Brad Bainter (1975-79)
7. 1,496 Chuck Schramm (1954-57)
8. 1,472 Ceola Clark III (2008-13)
9. 1,467 Garret Covington (2013-Pres.)
10. 1,448 Grady McCollum (1956-60)
1,448 Jamie Lilly (1979-82) |
