Box Score Box Score
The UW-Parkside men's basketball team moved to 2-0 on the season with an 83-68 win over Saginaw Valley State on Friday night in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The Cardinals of Saginaw Valley State fell to 0-2.
Jordan Mach led the Rangers as he poured in 25 points with three steals and three rebounds.
Leneal Harris was hot from deep as he scored 19 points and Ziggy Riauka came off the bench to help out in the scoring column with 10 points while also pulling down eight rebounds.
“It was a gutsy effort,” said head coach
Luke Reigel. ”It wasn't particularly pretty in the first half but in the second half we did a lot of nice things offensively. We got the ball inside and that really opened up our perimeter game.”
The Rangers set the tone early in the game with a quick run to stretch their early lead to 9-2. The defense shutdown the Cardinals, and Saginaw did not make a field goal in the first six minutes of the game with their only points coming from the free throw line.
The Cardinals answered with an impressive run themselves. Saginaw Valley State responded by outscoring UWP 22-9 over the ten minutes as 6'7” forward Mike Schaaf showed his range by draining three shots from behind the arc.
With a little over four minutes left in the half, UWP responded with another run and turned a six point deficit into a one point lead at the break. Riauka came off the bench to score two huge baskets late in the half to lead a late spurt as the Rangers went into half with a 28-27 lead.
Both teams went into the half each having their own five minute scoring draught. Saginaw Valley State shot 10-for-39 (25.6%) from the field as the Rangers shot 10-of-34 (29.4%).
“It was our first Division II game and it felt like there were some opening game jitters,” said Reigel. “Everyone was trying to make the play the first time they touched (the ball).”
UWP took control from the first tick in the second half as
Leneal Harris scored 11 straight points and 14 of the first 16. The Rangers stretched their lead to 11 points at 44-33 with 14:30 left in the game. The senior dropped three, three-pointers while driving to the hoop to draw a foul and convert the and-one free throw.
“(Leneal) is playing so much better this year, but he can do a lot of things,” said Reigel. “If teams don't focus solely on him he has the ability to do what he did tonight. Obviously got us started in the second half.”
Saginaw Valley State made a late push as they put together a quick 7-0 run to get within six points at 48-42 with 11:30 left. The Rangers responded and ultimately ran away with the game. The Rangers stretched it out to their biggest lead of the night at 74-57 before coasting the rest of the way.
The Rangers now take on Northwood University tomorrow for their final game in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic with tipoff at 7:00 p.m. at the DeSimone Gymnasium.
