FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 21, 2013)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad returns to the hardwood for its third game in six days, hosting Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division nemesis Lewis University inside DeSimone Gymnasium.

The Rangers tip off against the Flyers at 7:30 p.m. Steve Kratochvil will be providing play-by-play for Monday's contest while Jim Kramer will be providing color commentary on the audio feed available online and on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (10-4, 5-1 GLVC) returns to Somers having split a pair of games last week on the road. The Rangers stumbled 65-58 to No. 12 Bellarmine University on Thursday before pounding McKendree University 76-59 on Saturday.

UW-Parkside trailed by as many as 19-points on Thursday against the 12th-ranked Knights before mounting a huge second half comeback.  Conrad Krutwig buried a three with 1:58 remaining as the Rangers closed to within a point at 59-58 but the Rangers were held scoreless the rest of the way as BU converted a layup and hit four straight free throws to preserve the win.

Krutwig led the Rangers with 18 points while Colt Grandstaff added 10.

The Rangers dominated the Bearcats on Saturday, owning an edge in virtually every statistical category in the 17-point win. UWP held a 48-12 advantage in points in the paint, a 14-2 edge in points off turnovers, a 15-4 edge in second chance points, a 35-22 edge in rebounds while committing just five turnovers on the afternoon.

Jeremy Saffold led the Rangers with 18 points while Zygimantas Riauka and Kevin Senechalle both added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Despite scoring a season-low three points against Bellarmine, Saffold continues to lead the Rangers and the GLVC in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game. Riauka adds 12.9 ppg and a team best 6.1 rebounds per game while Krutwig is the third Ranger averaging in double figures with 10.9 ppg.

UW-Parkside ranks second in the GLVC in free throw percentage (76.5 percent) and turnover margin (+4.93) while leading the league in assist to turnover ratio at 1.42.

Jan. 21 vs. Lewis at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: UW-Parkside and Lewis have met 58 times with the Flyers holding a 34-24 edge in the all-time series.

Last Season: Lewis stole both contests last season, winning 78-59 on Jan. 16 in Romeoville while posting a 90-83 victory in the Rangers' season finale on Feb. 23 inside DeSimone Gymnasium.

About the Flyers: Lewis rolls into DeSimone Gymnasium with a 9-5 overall record and a 3-3 mark in GLVC play as they close out a three-game road swing today.

The Flyers began the road trip with a 82-61 victory over McKendree on Thursday before succumbing to Bellarmine 75-71 on Saturday.

Ryan Jackson leads Lewis offensively, averaging 16.9 ppg while David Bryant and Jeff Jarosz add 10.8 and 10.6 ppg, respectively. Julian Lewis comes into Monday's clash with a team best 6.4 rebounds per game while also averaging 8.8 ppg. Kyle Nelson has 23 blocks on the year while Jarosz averages a team best 3.0 assists per contest.

Lewis boasts the best defense in the GLVC, holding opponents to just 61.4 ppg but has an offense that is only ninth, averaging 71.9 points per outing.

Record Book Watch: Saffold continues to climb the program's all-time scoring list. With 1,316 career points, the forward is 11th on the all-time list and 18 points short of Chuck Chambliss (1971-74) and cracking the top ten.

Saturday's victory over McKendree gives head coach Luke Reigel 112 victories, pushing him past Rees Johnson for sole possession of second place on UW-Parkside's all-time coaching wins list. Johnson collected 111 wins while serving as coach from 1982-1988.

Beast of the East: Four of the GLVC East Division's eight teams appear in the top 25 this week. Kentucky Wesleyan College sits at No. 4 while the University of Indianapolis is fifth. Bellarmine is ranked No. 12 while the University of Southern Indiana rounds out the ranked teams, checking in at No. 15.