GAME NOTES: Looking to build on a two-game win streak, the Akron Zips will host the Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks in a non-conference clash at James A. Rhodes Arena on Thursday.

Western Illinois has had a rough start to the season, opening with two consecutive losses and entering this contest with Akron sporting a 2-3 record. The Leathernecks are coming off a recent win, however, against Greenville by a convincing 91-56 score.

Akron will take on Western Illinois in the third contest of a four-game homestand. The Zips have won two in a row against Bryant (72-66) and Arkansas- Pine Bluff (81-60), and will go for their sixth win of the season in this clash.

The Zips lead the all-time series, 14-10. Akron has won two straight meetings against the Leathernecks, the most recent being played in 1992.

Western Illinois got its season back on track with a decisive win over Greenville in the team's last outing. The Leathernecks shot an impressive 54.7 percent from the floor, which included a 10-of-21 mark from 3-point range. Garret Covington netted a team-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Jamie Batish and Tate Stensgaard each contributed 12 points to the winning effort. J.C. Fuller rounded out the team's double-digit scorers in the contest with 10 points. Jabari Sandifer dished out a team-high 13 assists with nine points, and Jalen Chapman boasted of a WIU-high 10 rebounds.

Covington, who was the go-to player for the Leathernecks last season, has already reprised his role as the scorer once again. Covington leads the Leathernecks through five games played with a 17.2 ppg average, and is the only WIU player to average a double-digit scoring total so far. Batish is the next closest in terms of scoring at 9.2 ppg. Chapman leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 rpg, and Sandifer is the team's top passer at 4.4 apg. The Leathernecks are scoring an average of 67.0 ppg through five outings.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff actually owned a one-point lead over Akron when the teams split for halftime in the Zips' most recent contest, but then the home team exploded in the second period for 50 points to easily down the Lions in the contest. Kwan Cheatham Jr. led all Akron scorers with 17 points in the win, adding in 11 rebounds for the double-double. Deji Ibitayo came off the bench to net 13 points, and Pat Forsythe, Nyles Evans and Reggie McAdams all contributed 11 points for the Zips.

Freshman Noah Robotham leads the team in scoring this season entering the clash with Western Illinois, netting 12.3 ppg through seven games played. Cheatham is second on the team averaging 10.7 ppg, while Forsythe adds 10.6 ppg, Ibitayo chips in 10.1 ppg, and Demetrius Treadwell rounds out the double- digit scorers at 10.0 ppg. Treadwell, last season's leading scorer and one of the better big men in the Mid-American Conference, leads the team in rebounding at 13.0 ppg for the double-double average. He currently is suspended, and will not be playing against WIU.

Akron has much more scoring punch this season as opposed to last year's squad, even though Quincy Diggs was lost in the offseason. The freshman Robotham provides a young spark for the Zips, who look to improve at home, where they are currently unbeaten.