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

SOMERS, Wis. (Nov. 21, 2013)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad continues its five-game homestand this weekend, taking on a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foes. The Rangers welcome Saint Cloud State University to DeSimone Gymnasium on Saturday before squaring off against the University of Minnesota-Duluth on Tuesday night.

The Rangers and Huskies are set to tangle at 3 p.m. on Saturday while UW-Parkside and the Bulldogs tipoff at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night. Live stats, video, and audio will be available for both games with Steve Kratochvil providing the play-by-play. Tuesday's game will additionally be carried on the airwaves throughout southeastern Wisconsin on WRJN 1400 AM. Saturday's contest is Junior Rangers Day with members of the skills camp receiving free admission and participating in a halftime skills exhibition.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (4-0) looks to continue its winning ways and get off to the program's first 5-0 start since the 2005-2006 season. The Rangers have been firing on all cylinders in their last two outings, blowing out Purdue University-North Central 91-48 on Nov. 16 in the home opener before steamrolling Northland International University 85-55 on Tuesday night.

Against Purdue-North Central, the Rangers owned the paint, holding a 54-12 edge in points in the paint while holding a 20-9 turnover advantage. Five Rangers tallied double figures in the home opener with Zygimantas Riauka collecting a season-high 20 points.

UW-Parkside led wire-to-wire on Tuesday night against the Pioneers with Colt Grandstaff pouring on 21 points in just 21 minutes of action, shooting seven-for-nine from the floor and five-for-six from distance. Jimmy Gavin tallied 15 points while Riauka grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds. UW-P once again controlled the paint, outscoring Northland International 44-18.

Four Rangers average double digit scoring production with Riauka leading the way with 17.0 points per game and a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game. Jordan Mach chips in 15.5 ppg and 4.3 rpg while Gavin and Grandstaff each average an even 14.0 ppg.

Nov. 23 vs. Saint Cloud State University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Huskies have never met on the hardwood.

About the Huskies: Saint Cloud State (3-0) heads into Saturday unbeaten as they square off against its first NCAA Division II opponent of the season. SCSU average margin of victory has been 17 points through the first three games, averaging 77.3 points per game while holding opponents to just 60.3 ppg.

The Huskies opened the season with a 64-51 home victory over Division III University of Northwestern (Minn.) on Nov. 9 before downing another Division III opponent on Nov. 16 to open the Husky Hoopster Classic, defeating Saint John's University 80-74. SCSU capped off the tournament the following night with an 88-56 win over NAIA Mayville State University.

Matt Craggs leads the Huskies in both scoring in rebounding, heading into Saturday averaging 13.7 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game. Jordan Poydras adds 13.3 ppg while Kevin Levandoski chips in 10.7 ppg.

Nov. 26 vs. University of Minnesota-Duluth at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Bulldogs have met nine times on the hardwood with Minnesota-Duluth holding a slim 5-4 edge in the series. The two squads last met in the 2012-2013 season opener with the visiting Rangers emerging from Duluth with a 67-61 victory on Nov. 11. UW-Parkside led nearly wire-to-wire and survived a late comeback attempt by the Bulldogs.

About the Bulldogs: UW-Parkside will be the fourth Wisconsin school that Minnesota-Duluth (2-1) will face this season as the Bulldogs are set to take on Division I University of Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday.

UMD opened the season by edging Division III University of Wisconsin-Stout 61-59 on Nov. 9 before falling 78-58 on the road at Michigan Tech University on Nov. 15. The Bulldogs breezed past Division III University of Wisconsin-Superior 73-58 on Tuesday night.

Four Bulldogs average double digit scoring with Peter Crawford paving the way with 12.3 points per game. Kristofer Jackson adds 11.0 ppg and a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game while Jordan Reets and Reece Zoelle add 10.7 and 10.3 ppg, respectively.

Home Sweet Home: UW-Parkside will enjoy the comforts of home for the rest of the month, currently in the midst of a five game homestand inside DeSimone Gymnasium. After Saint Cloud State University on Nov. 23 the Rangers bring in University of Minnesota-Duluth on Nov. 26 and Cardinal Stritch University on Nov. 30.

Preseason Picks: The Rangers have been picked to finish fifth in the GLVC East, according to the league's 16 head coaches. Bellarmine University has been picked to win the division followed by the University of Southern Indiana, University of Indianapolis and Lewis University. In the West Division, defending NCAA Division II National Champion Drury University has been selected to repeat as champs.

GLVC Shuffle: This offseason the 16-member GLVC saw a few tweaks to its membership. Charter member Kentucky Wesleyan College exited the league to join the nascent Great Midwest Athletic Conference with Truman State University from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association filling the void. The addition of Truman moved the University of Illinois Springfield from the West Division to the East Division.

Reigel's Rangers: Head Coach Luke Reigel begins his 11th season as head coach and his 14th season overall at UW-Parkside in 2013-2014. Reigel was named the 2013 Jack Bennett Man of the Year while also earning Midwest Region and GLVC Coach of the Year honors. The Wisconsin native sits second on the all-time wins list with 126 wins and has guided the Rangers to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths.

Returning to the sidelines will be assistants Tom Reigel and Andy Atkins while Keven Bradley joins the staff as the program's top assistant. Bradley joined the program over the summer after serving in a similar capacity at Upper Iowa University where he helped the Peacocks qualify for the NCAA Division II Tournament last season.