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

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 6, 2013)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball team looks to maintain its spot atop the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division standings this week, hitting the road to face No. 23 Kentucky Wesleyan College on Thursday in Owensboro before a clash of East Division co-leaders on Saturday as the Rangers face 10th-ranked University of Southern Indiana in Evansville.

The Rangers tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in their final trip to Owensboro while hitting the floor at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Evansville. Live stats and audio will be available for both games. Jim Kramer will be providing play-by-play for both contests on the audio feed available online and on WRKN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (14-5, 9-2 GLVC) remains in first place having won four straight games including three upsets of Top 25 squads. The Rangers began the week by outlasting host Saint Joseph's College 109-99 in triple overtime on Thursday before taking down then No. 15 University of Indianapolis 77-71 on Saturday inside DeSimone Gymnasium on Alumni Day.

Against the Pumas, UW-Parkside led by as many as 15 points but suffered 20 turnovers on the night while the home side drained 14 three-pointers to stay in contention. After squandering leads in regulation and double overtime, the Rangers sealed the game in triple overtime by tallying the first nine points and never looking back.

Two days later the Rangers showed no ill-effects from the marathon game, surging past nationally-ranked UIndy 77-71 on Alumni Day.

Jeremy Saffold leads the UW-Parkside scoring efforts, averaging 19.3 points per game along with 5.7 rebounds per game. Zygimantas Riauka is second on the team in scoring with 12.5 ppg while leading the team with 6.5 rpg. Conrad Krutwig chips in 11.6 ppg with Colt Grandstaff coming off the bench and contributing 9.6 ppg.

Feb. 7 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan College at Owensboro Sportscenter (Live Stats)(Audio) 

Series History: The Rangers and Panthers have met 33 times with KWC winning 29 of those encounters. The series' first began during the 1990-1991 season as a non-conference contest. UWP won three straight, sweeping the series in 2005-06 and securing another win in 2006-07 before earning another win earlier this season after nine straight defeats.

Last Meeting: UW-Parkside upset then No. 3 Kentucky Wesleyan 60-59 on Jan. 26 inside DeSimone Gymnasium with neither team finding the back of the net the final two minutes of the game. UWP led by as many as 12 points but needed a Nick Neari jumper with 2:06 remaining to reclaim the lead and hold on for the victory.

About the Panthers: 23rd-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan (15-4, 7-4 GLVC) won 14 straight to begin the season but have since dropped four of their last five. The Panthers dominated McKendree University 83-56 on Jan. 31 to snap a three-game slide before stumbling 86-69 to Bellarmine University on Feb. 2 in Louisville, Ky. as the host Knights led wire-to-wire.

Dazmond Starke leads the Panthers, averaging 15.6 ppg and 8.0 rpg while Lucas barker adds 11.3 ppg and 4.3 rpg. Starke leads the league in field goal percentage (68.9 percent) and sits second nationally. Donovan Johnson averages a shade under 10 points a game at 9.9 ppg while averaging 5.5 rpg. J.D. Danforth makes his trips to the charity stripe count, ranking second in the GLVC and fourth nationally in free throw percentage, hitting on 92.6 percent of his attempts.

KWC ranks 10th nationally in rebounding (+9.3) and 14th in scoring margin (+12.7) while sitting third in the league and 11th nationally in field goal percentage (50.0 percent).

Feb. 9 vs. University of Southern Indiana at Physical Activities Center (Live Stats)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Screaming Eagles have met 34 times on the hardwood with USI holding a 26-8 edge in the all-time series. UW-Parkside snapped a six-game slide in the series with its victory on Jan. 24th inside DeSimone Gymnasium.

Last Meeting: UW-Parkside upset then No. 10 USI 77-68 on Jan. 24. The Rangers forced 19 Screaming Eagle turnovers and scored 26 points off those turnovers while making 25 trips to the charity stripe on the night. Jeremy Saffold led all scorers with 25 points while Conrad Krutwig added 17.

About the Screaming Eagles: 10th-ranked USI (16-3, 9-2 GLVC) heads into Thursday's clash with Lewis University tied atop the GLVC East Division standings with the Rangers. Southern Indiana is on a three-game win streak and has prevailed in seven of its last eight games; the only blemish during that stretch was against UW-Parkside on Jan. 24.

The Screaming Eagles began last week by cruising past Bellarmine 62-49 at home before defeating McKendree 78-68 on Saturday. USI's recent win streak began by edging Lewis 65-64 on Jan. 26 in a game the Eagles led by as many as 19 points.

USI has yet to taste defeat inside the Physical Activities Center this season, boasting an 11-0 record at home. The Eagles have additionally won 17 straight inside their home arena and own a 64-5 record at home over the last four years. UIndy was the last visiting squad to unseat the Eagles, clipping USI 59-56 on Jan. 19, 2012.

Southern Indiana has five players averaging in double figures with Orlando Rutledge leading the way with 15.2 ppg. Keith DeWitt adds 12.3 ppg along with a team-best 8.8 rpg while Aaron Nelson brings 11.9 ppg and 7.9 rpg to the table. Taylor Wischmeier and Lawrence Thomas chip in 11.1 and 10.0 ppg, respectively.

The Eagles are one of the nation's top rebounding squads, leading the conference and ranking fourth in the nation in rebounding margin at +11.2. USI sits seventh in personal fouls (14.2) and 17th in scoring margin (+12.5).

National Rankings: UW-Parkside ranks in the top 25 nationally in seven statistical categories. The Rangers rank 12th (out of 286 teams) in turnovers per game (11.2), assist to turnover ratio (1.36) and personal fouls per game (14.8) while sitting 15th in turnover margin at +4.5. Hitting 49.2 percent from the floor, UW-Parkside ranks 18th in the nation in field goal percentage while ranking 19th in free throw percentage (75.3 percent). The Rangers additionally sit 24th in scoring margin at +11.2.

Individually, Andy Mazurczak ranks second in the nation in assist to turnover ratio (3.39) while fellow guard Bryant Smith is ranked 14th (2.59). Matt Mazarei of Fort Lewis College continues to lead the nation with an assist to turnover ratio of 3.5. Jeremy Saffold is ranked 35th nationally in scoring (19.3 ppg) while Zygimantas Riauka os 88th in blocks, averaging 1.32 per game.

Record Book Watch: Jeremy Saffold continues to close in on Quincy Moman (1999-2003) for ninth place on the all-time scoring list. The senior forward is currently 10th all-time with 1,405 points, 15 shy of Moman. Saffold is additionally 23 rebounds of 500 for his career and 49 shy of cracked the top 10. Mark Zukley (1990-1994) currently occupies the No. 10 position on the all-time rebounding list with 527 baords.

East Division Heavyweights: Four of the GLVC East Division's eight teams appear in the NABC Top 25 Poll this week. Southern Indiana is the top-ranked team, sitting at No. 10 followed by Bellarmine at No. 11. UIndy is ranked 21st followed by Kentucky Wesleyan at No. 23. Drury University, currently sitting atop the West Division Standings with an 8-2 conference mark, is in the others receiving votes category.