Both UW-Parkside and Rockhurst earned bids to the NCAA Division II post-season basketball tournament last year. The Rangers, who were dominant at home, qualified despite a 3-11 record on the road in 2006-07. Playing in their first road game after a 3-0 start, UW-Parkside fell at Rockhurst, 73-65, Thursday night.

"We were terrible," UW-Parkside head coach Luke Reigel told WRJN radio on the post-game show. "Obviously, I am not getting our guys ready to play on the road. We were just bad."

As the coach fumed over his team's poor play, the Hawks took advantage, making good on 64 percent of their shots from the floor in the second half. The Rangers were down by one at the half, saw the deficit get extended to 10, then rallied and pulled to within one, before the Hawks pulled away.

It was the first-ever win for Rockhurst over UW-Parkside. The teams had never met before Rockhurst joined the Great Lakes Valley Conference 3 years ago.

Senior guard Joey Deas was a thorn in the Rangers' side. He scored a game-high 19 points and hit 12 of 13 free throw attempts.

Dave Keane caught fire for UW-Parkside, scoring 15 points off the bench, knocking down three three-point shots. Kyle Clark tallied 14 points, but was 6-17 from the floor. LaVontay Fenderson also scored 14, but struggled with a 5-15 effort from the floor.

It doesn't get any easier for the Rangers. The team will play at Drury, ranked No. 11 in the country, Saturday, at 3:15 p.m.