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

Box Score

SOMERS, Wis. (Nov. 23, 2013)-- In a battle of unbeatens, something had to give as the homestanding University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad suffered its first setback of the 2013-2014 season, dropping an 87-84 decision to Saint Cloud State University on Saturday afternoon inside DeSimone Gymnasium.

The visiting Huskies (4-0) utilized a 19-2 run midway through the second half to secure the lead and fended off a late Ranger (4-1) rally to send UW-Parkside its first loss of the season.

An Andy Mazurczak jumper with 15:04 left in the second half gave the home side its largest lead of the night at 52-46 before the Huskies mounted a 19-2 run over the next six minutes to build an 11-point buffer with 9:09 remaining. The Rangers slowly chipped away at the deficit, closing to within four with 1:41 left. Mazurczak hit a pair of free throws with 25 ticks left to close the gap to two points while a Mohamed Mohamed free-throw with 11 ticks left pulled UW-Parkside to within two again at 86-84. The Huskies hit just one of their final four free throws, giving the Rangers the ball with seven seconds and facing a three-point deficit. Connor Niehaus secured the win for SCSU, grabbing a steal with one second left to ice the contest.

The Huskies claimed the opening seven points of the contest before the Rangers fought back, tying the game at 9-9 with 14:17 left in the first half on a Jimmy Gavin jumper. Saint Cloud State extended its advantage back to seven points at the midway point of the first half before the Rangers answered the call again, tying the contest at 32-32 with 4:08 left on a pair of Jordan Mach free throws. The Huskies scored six of the next eight to claim a six-point lead with 65 ticks left in the half but UW-P closed the gap to two at the half with Gavin hitting a free throw and Mach draining a three-pointer, trailing 40-38 at the break.

Mazurczak led the way with a career-high 23 points as five Rangers registered in double figures. Gavin came off the bench and chipped in 18 points while Mach and Colt Grandstaff each tallied 14 points. Zygimantas Riauka nabbed his first double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and securing a game-high 10 rebounds.

Jordan Poydras paced St. Cloud State with a game-high 32 points while Damarius Cruz added 16. Scott Stone contributed 12 points off the bench while James Fort scored 10.

The Rangers return to the court on Tuesday, continuing their homestand by hosting University of Minnesota-Duluth with tipoff slated for 7 p.m.