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

Box Score

Celebration Photos

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 21, 2013)-- There will be no sharing for the No. 13 University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball team. A comfortable 97-68 victory over Saint Joseph's College on Thursday night inside DeSimone Gymnasium coupled with a Bellarmine University 73-62 win over University of Southern Indiana gave the Rangers' their first Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division title in program history.

Just a year removed from a 1-17 GLVC campaign, UW-Parkside (19-5, 14-2 GLVC) cut down the nets inside DeSimone as East Division champions, capping off the biggest single season turnaround since the league was formed in 1978. The Rangers never trailed against the Pumas as all 10 players on the bench saw action on the court in the blowout victory to extend the squad's win streak to nine games.

Head coach Luke Reigel started all five seniors to begin the contest as the squad grabbed an early 8-2 lead just three and a half minutes into the game. A three-pointer by Saint Joseph's Dayvon Sloan pulled the Pumas (6-17, 4-12 GLVC) to within six with 14:08 remaining in the opening half before the Rangers took control, overpowering the visitors over the next eight minutes with a 24-4 surge to swell the lead to 26 points. UW-Parkside headed into the locker room at half with a comfortable 54-27 lead after a Kevin Senechalle dunk with 40 ticks left.

The Rangers maintained at least a 22-point cushion the entire second half to clinch the program's first ever division title.

Colt Grandstaff came off the bench and paced the Rangers with 17 points and eight rebounds while Jeremy Saffold added 16 points. Conrad Krutwig tallied 15 points and seven rebounds while Andy Mazurczak added 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Zygimantas Riauka was the fifth Ranger in double figures, adding 10 points and four blocks. Seniors Nick Neari and Ryan Callozzo tallied seven and eight points, respectively, with Neari adding three assists and four steals.

Damon Ellison Jr. led SJC with 20 points off the bench while Sloan added 13. Jon Smith posted a game-high 12 rebounds.

UW-Parkside was on fire from the field, shooting 60.6 percent (40-for-66) for the game, including 63.6 percent (21-for-33) in the opening 20 minutes of action while limiting the Pumas to shooting 36.6 percent (26-for-71). The Rangers dominated the paint, holding a 66-34 scoring edge while owning a 12-4 advantage in fast break points.

UWP headed into Thursday night with a two-game lead on the division with three games to play. The Ranger win along with a Southern Indiana loss to Bellarmine ensured an undisputed title for UW-Parkside.

The Rangers close out the regular season on the road, heading down to the University of Indianapolis on Saturday for a 2:15 p.m. tipoff before finishing off against Lewis University on Feb. 28.