| MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois men's basketball team (3-7) wraps up the non-league portion of its schedule Monday night (Dec. 19) at 5 p.m. (CT) at No. 15 Purdue (9-2)... The contest between the Leathernecks and Boilermakers is slated to air live on the Big Ten Network. The last time WIU played against a ranked Big Ten opponent they defeated No. 17 Wisconsin 69-67 (Nov. 13).
OPENING TIP
- Western Illinois had five players score in double figures as the Leathernecks topped the Milwaukee Panthers 75-59 on the road Saturday (Dec. 17) for their first road win of the season.
- In each of WIU's victories this season the Leathernecks have had five players score in double figures.
- Mike Miklusak is off to a fast start this season averaging 15.0 points (2nd on team) and a team-high 9.2 rebounds per game... After recording the team's first double-double of the season at Miami (14 points, 11 rebounds) in his first game of the season, he recorded his second of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds in WIU's win over Milwaukee.
- WIU center Brandon Gilbeck had a career game at Milwaukee, scoring a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting while tying his career-high in rebounds with nine... He also had three blocks.
- Sophomore Delo Bruster finished WIU's game at Milwaukee with a career-high 13 points and team-best five assists off of the bench.
- Freshman C.J. Duff has scored 10-plus points in four of the last five games.
- Garret Covington, who leads the team with 20.4 points per game, has 1,543 career points and most recently moved from sixth to fifth place all-time at WIU in career scoring... Covington is the program's NCAA DI era scoring leader and is 13 points away from sole possession of fourth place and 35 points away from third place all-time.
- Covington, who also ranks second all-time in career 3-pointers (243 3-pointers), is only five triples away from being the program's all-time leader.
- Senior guard Jabari Sandifer has 364 career assists and most recently passed Daryl Reed (361) for sole possession of third place all-time at WIU.
SERIES HISTORY: The Leathernecks and Boilermakers have played one another four times and Purdue leads the all-time series 4-0... The first meeting between the two teams was on December 7, 1939 with Purdue winning 47-24... The two teams then met again a season later on the same day, a game Purdue won 65-41... Both of the first two meets were season-opening games for Western... The next meeting took place on December 9, 1999 with the Boilermakers winning 83-48... Most recently Purdue defeated WIU 81-67 in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational on March 20, 2013.
December 7, 1939 • L • 47-24
December 7, 1940 • L • 65-41
December 9, 1999 • L • 83-48
March 20, 2013 • L • 81-67 (College Basketball Invitational)
A LOOK AT PURDUE: The Purdue Boilermakers, members of the Big Ten, enter Monday's game with a 9-2 overall record after a come-from-behind victory over No. 21 Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic... Purdue's only losses came against then-No.3 Villinova and then- No.14 Louisville... The Boilermakers are led by Caleb Swanigan who averaged a team-best 16.8 points and team-best 11.1 rebounds per game... Four other players also average more than 10 points per game in Isaac Haas (14.0), Vincent Edwards (11.6), Carsen Edwards (11.3) and Dakota Mathis (10.3)... Swanigan also has 35 assists, which ranks third on the team, and has a team-high nine blocks... Purdue is coached by Matt Painter (Purdue '94) who is in his 12th year at the helm... Entering Monday's contest, Painter owns a 247-136 record as a head coach of the Boilermakers.
WHAT'S NEXT?: After Western's road game to conclude non-league play at Purdue, the Leathernecks open Summit League play at Fort Wayne (12/29) and IUPUI (12/31) to conclude the month of December... WIU then welcomes South Dakota State for a midweek contest on Jan. 4 before Oral Roberts comes to town on Saturday Jan. 7.
THE LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois had five players score in double figures as the Leathernecks topped the Milwaukee Panthers 75-59 on the road Saturday (Dec. 17). Western, who improved to 3-7 overall after the win, jumped out to an early 21-5 lead and eventually built its lead up to 23 points in the second half. UWM was able to make a push during the final five minutes of the game, cutting its deficit to 13, but the Leathernecks would hold off the Panthers (4-8 overall) for their third win of the season. The Leathernecks shot 52.8% from the field and held the Panthers to a 36.5 shooting percentage. WIU also made 9-of-19 triples (47.4%) in the contest. The Leathernecks also took care of the basketball, only turning over the ball nine times while dishing out 17 assists. Sophomore Brandon Gilbeck finished the game with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. He also pulled down nine rebounds and recorded three blocks. Recording his second double-double of the season and playing all 40 minutes was senior Mike Miklusak who finished with 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with two blocks. Garret Covington also scored 14 points, while Delo Bruster and C.J. Duff added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Bruster also led the team in assists with five.
TOP ALL-TIME: Garret Covington sits fifth all-time in Western Illinois career scoring with 1,543 points... He most recently passed Marshall Stoner (1,524) and took sole possession of fifth place all-time... Covington's 1,543 career points is the program's most during the program's NCAA Division I era... He is 13 points away from passing Dwayne Banks (1,555) for fourth all-time and 35 points from passing Bob Anderson (1,577) for third all-time in program history.
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. 1,543 Garret Covington 2013-Pres.
6. 1,524 Marshall Stoner 1952-56
7. 1,508 Brad Bainter 1975-79
8. 1,496 Chuck Schramm 1954-57
9. 1,472 Ceola Clark III 2008-13
10. 1,448 Grady McCollum 1956-60
1,448 Jamie Lilly 1979-82
COVINGTON FOR THREE: Garret Covington has 243 career 3-pointers, which ranks second all-time at WIU after passing Bill Heisler (216) earlier this season… Ceola Clark III ranks first with 247... Covington is five away from becoming the program's all-time leader in 3-pointers... Covington has played in 94 career games, and has had only seven games without making a 3-pointer, meaning he has made at least one triple in 87 games... He has 66 games with multiple 3-pointers... 21 games with one trey, 18 games with two triples, 20 games with three makes from long range, 18 games with four 3-pointers, nine games with five connections from beyond the arc, and a career-high six 3-pointers in one game... He made his six triples consecutively in WIU's win over Idaho last season (Dec. 11, 2014).
1. 247 Ceola Clark III 2008-13
2. 243 Garret Covington 2013-Pres.
3. 216 Bill Heisler 1997-01 |
