MACOMB, Ill. -Â Western Illinois men's basketball (9-17, 2-13) finishes its 2015-16 season at home Saturday evening (Feb. 27) when Summit League foe South Dakota (14-16, 5-10) comes to town... The game is slated to tipoff at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
GIVEAWAY: Hey Leathernecks fans! 1,000 Fandanas will be passed out at Saturday's doubleheader! Sponsored by Western Illinois University Housing and Dining Services and Inter-Hall Council!
 
SENIOR NIGHT: Western Illinois has four senior Leatherneck student-athletes on the 2015-16 roster that will be honored prior to Saturday night's game against South Dakota... The senior class includes guards J.C. Fuller and Jamie Batish, as well as forward Tate Stesngaard and Jalen Chapman... The four have played in a combined 226 career games, and recorded 1,680 points, 800 rebounds, 216 assists, 112 steals and 81 blocks... The guards, Fuller and Batish, have combined to knock down 129 career 3-pointers... The forwards, Chapman and Stensgaard, have combined to grab 151 offensive rebounds.
COVINGTON'S THIRD YEAR AS A LEATHERNECK: 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, including points and 3-point field goals, and he has shot effectively from the free throw line... His scoring average has increased every year so far: freshman- 14.6, sophomore- 15.5 and junior- 18.0... During his freshman season he made 70 triples (38.7 percent of his attempts) and shot 80.0 percent from free throw line (92-115)... As a sophomore he made 63 shots from long range (made 35.6 percent of his attempts) and shot 82.8 percent from the charity stripe (101-122)... With one game remaining in his junior season, he has made 74 threes (41.8 percent of his attempts) and is shooting 79.4 percent from the free throw line (85-107).
LEATHERNECKS VS. COYOTES SERIES HISTORY: Western Illinois and South Dakota have played each other 12 times and the series is tied 6-6... The Leathernecks dropped the first two meetings between the two teams, first at home on Dec. 6, 1969, 82-74, and then again on December 12, 1970, when USD downed WIU in Vermillion, 83-82... The rest of the meetings between the two teams have been Summit League games... Western won the first five league meetings and has lost the last four meetings... Perhaps the most historic win over South Dakota came in WIU's 2013-14 regular season finale which gave the Leathernecks a share of the regular season title.
vs. South Dakota • 12 Total Meetings • Tied 6-6
Dec 6, 1969Â Â Â L Â Â Â 74-82Â Â Â H
Dec 12, 1970Â Â Â L Â Â Â 82-83Â Â Â A
Jan 3, 2012 Â Â Â Â Â W Â Â Â 67-44Â Â Â H
Jan 21, 2012Â Â Â Â Â W Â Â Â 47-45Â Â Â A
Nov 29, 2012Â Â Â Â Â W Â Â Â 73-71Â Â Â A
March 2, 2013Â Â Â W Â Â Â 61-59Â Â Â H
March 9, 2013Â Â Â WÂ Â Â 54-53Â Â Â N
Jan 23, 2014Â Â Â WÂ Â Â 79-61Â Â Â H
Feb 22, 2014Â Â Â LÂ Â Â 54-64Â Â Â A
Jan. 22, 2015Â Â Â LÂ Â Â 58-68Â Â Â H
Feb.14, 2015Â Â Â LÂ Â Â 61-75Â Â Â A
Feb.14, 2015Â Â Â LÂ Â Â 61-75Â Â Â A
BETTER AT HOME: Western is 43-23 (.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, and are 6-6 (.500) so far this season on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court inside Western Hall.
ROAD RAGE: Western is 3-11 so far this season on the road... WIU is 17-53 (.243) on the road since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, and 3-34 (.081) in the last two seasons... 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, and went 0-13 (.000) in 2014-15.
THE LAST TIME OUT: Fort Wayne jumped out to an early double-digit advantage inside Western Hall Wednesday evening (Feb. 25) on its way to an 87-75 Summit League men's basketball win over Western Illinois... Junior Garret Covington tied his season-high with 26 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field... It marks the fourth straight game, and sixth out of the last eight, with 20-plus points... He also dished out four assists, grabbed three rebounds, and tallied two steals... Seniors Jalen Chapman and J.C. Fuller each added 11 points, while junior Mike Miklusak contributed nine points and a team-high seven rebounds... Fuller also dished out four assists... Finishing with a team-high five assists along with six points was junior Jabari Sandifer... Freshman center Brandon Gilbeck finished with a season-high eight points and six rebounds. |
