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

GLVC Tournament Website

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Mar. 8, 2013)-- The 17th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball team will face its ninth ranked opponent of the season on Saturday, hitting the hardwood inside the Ford Center against 18th-ranked University of Southern Indiana in the semifinals of the 2013 Deaconess Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.

The GLVC East Division Champion Rangers (20-7) hope to knockout the Screaming Eagles (21-6) for the third time this season and punch a ticket to the Tournament finals for the first time in program history. (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Live stats, video and audio will be available for the game. Steve Kratochvil, Jim Kramer and Eric Zizich will be on the call on the audio feed available online and on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside grinded out a 65-56 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan College on Thursday night, snapping a two-game slide and downing the Panthers for the third time this season.

The Rangers surged out to an early 11-2 run to open the game, with five points coming from Jeremy Saffold during the spurt. The Panthers crawled back in a defensive struggle with UWP enjoying a 25-24 lead at the break as both teams struggled to shoot from the field. UW-Parkside scored the first five points of the second half and maintained at least a four point buffer the entire second half en route to the nine-point victory.

Three Rangers finished in double figures with Saffold leading the way with 18 points. Andy Mazurczak added 14 while Conrad Krutwig tallied 12. The Ranger blazed the nets in the second half, shooting 56 percent (14-for-25) from the floor while holding the Panthers to shooting just 32.8 percent (22-for-67) for the game.

Saffold is one of four Rangers averaging double figures on the season, leading the way with 18.9 points per game while also chipping in 5.5 rebounds per game. Krutwig pitches in 11.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg while Zygimantas Riauka tallied s 11.2 ppg and a team-best 5.7 rpg. Colt Grandstaff continues to provide a spark off the bench, averaging 10.2 ppg.

Series History: The Rangers and Screaming Eagles have met 35 times on the hardwood with USI holding a 26-9 edge in the all-time series. UW-Parkside has won both regular season meetings, snapping a six-game skid to USI.

Round 1: UW-Parkside upset then No. 10 Southern Indiana 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. Saffold led all scorers with 25 points while Krutwig added 17.

Round 2: Overtime was necessary in the second meeting of the season with UWP knocking off then No. 10 USI 76-72 inside the Physical Activities Center in Evansville on Feb. 9. The Rangers erased a 10-point second half deficit in a wild affair featuring eight lead changes and 11 ties. Bryant Smith was the hero in regulation, canning a deep three with 18 seconds left to force overtime. Smith and Grandstaff paced the Rangers, both scoring 17 points.

About the Screaming Eagles: 18th-ranked Southern Indiana soars into Saturday's semifinal clash having won six of its last six, surviving an overtime scare against Lewis University on Thursday, grounding the Flyers 88-80 in the GLVC Quarterfinals. USI's lone setback during its recent run was a 73-62 setback on the road against Bellarmine University on Feb. 21.

Against Lewis, the Eagles led by as many as 12 points with just under 11 minutes left before the sixth-seeded Flyers crawled back, forcing an extra session with a jumper with 31 seconds left. Southern Indiana delivered a crippling blow in overtime, tallying the opening eight points en route to the win.

Orlando Rutledge leads USI in scoring, averaging 16.1 ppg along with 5.5 rpg and is one of five Screaming Eagles averaging in double figures on the season. Keith DeWitt adds 14.6 ppg and a team-best 9.1 rpg while Aaron Nelson contributes 11.9 ppg and 7.9 rpg. Taylor Wischmeier and Lawrence Thomas add 10.5 and 10.1 ppg, respectively.

Southern Indiana is the top team in the league and rank second in the nation (out of 286 teams) in rebounding margin, holding a +11.6 advantage on opponents. USI is 11th nationally in blocks per game (5.1), 12th in scoring margin (+11.7) and 23rd in assists (16.1)

National Rankings: UW-Parkside ranks in the top 25 nationally (out of 286) in five statistical categories. The Ranger ranked ninth in the nation in field goal percentage, hitting 50.0 percent of chances while sitting 12th in assist to turnover ratio (1.32), 13th in personal fouls per game (14.7), 20th in turnover margin (3.9) and 21st in turnovers per game (11.5).

Individually, Jeremy Saffold is 37th nationally in scoring while Zygimantas Riauka sits 78th in the nation in blocks per game (1.31).

Award Season: UW-Parkside achieved a near sweep of all the major GLVC postseason awards with head coach Luke Reigel earning GLVC Coach of the Year, Jeremy Saffold earning GLVC Player of the Year and Andy Mazurczak claiming Co-Freshman of the Year accolades.

Jeremy Saffold was a unanimous First Team All-GLVC selection while Zygimantas Riauka and Colt Grandstaff garnered Second Team honors.

20-Win Club: The Rangers tallied their first 20-win campaign since the 1986-1987 season. The 86-87 Rangers finished the season with a 22-8 record under head coach Rees Johnson, the last of three-straight 20-win campaigns under his tutelage. A total of eight 20-win campaigns have been tallied in program history, all of them coming between a 13-year window from 1975 to 1987.

Turnaround: UW-Parkside's turnaround from a year ago is officially the biggest single season improvement since the GLVC was formed in 1978. The Rangers were 1-17 in conference play in 2011-12 and finished 2012-13 at 14-4, a 13-game improvement. The biggest turnaround prior to this season was Southern Indiana as the Screaming Eagles went from 4-14 in 1991-92 to 14-4 in 1992-93. The Rangers became the first team in league history to go from last to first in one season. University of Illinois Springfield is the closest team to have done so in the past, finishing in second place in 2011-12 with a 12-6 record after finishing 4-14 in 2010-11.

Record Book Watch: Jeremy Saffold continues to climb the all-time scoring list and currently occupies fifth place with 1,549 career points. Saffold surpassed 500 career rebounds last week and currently sits with 515 in his career, 11 shy of cracking the top 10. The forward is additionally one of just three players in program history to eclipse the 1,500-points and 500-rebounds barrier. The exclusive club includes Saffold and Abdul Jeelani (2,262 points and 1,237 rebounds from 1972-75) and Levi Bradley (1,697 points and 829 rebounds from 1993-97).

GLVC in the Top 25: UW-Parkside fell four spots to No. 17 in the week 14 rankings, remaining among the Top 25 for a school record fourth consecutive week.

Other conference foes in the Top 25 include GLVC West Division champion Drury University at No. 8, Bellarmine at No. 12 and University of Southern Indiana at No. 18.

UWP vs. the Top 25: UW-Parkside will face its ninth ranked opponent this season and holds an impressive 7-1 mark against the Top 25. The Rangers edged then No. 14 Drury University 90-88 on the road in overtime on Jan. 5 before suffering its lone setback to a Top 25 squad on Jan. 17, falling 65-58 to host and then No. 12 Bellarmine University.

The Rangers laundry list of ranked victims includes No. 10 USI (77-68), No. 3 Kentucky Wesleyan (60-59), No. 15 University of Indianapolis (77-71), No. 23 KWC (75-70), No. 10 USI (76-72 ot) and No. 13 Bellarmine (74-72).

Tournament Time: The 2013 Deaconess GLVC Tournament will be held March 7-10 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.

Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000, or through the Ford Center box office at (812) 422-1515.

All-Tournament passes are $35, while Session Flex Passes are $25, allowing you access to any two of the first six sessions, excluding Sunday's finals.  Single-session tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students with a valid ID, while children aged six and under are admitted free of charge.

The 2013 Deaconess GLVC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship Tournaments features 16 seeded teams, including eight men's and eight women's squads that will have earned an invitation following first-round matchups on their respective campuses.  On Thursday, March 7, the men's quarterfinals will take place with four games at noon, 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. CT.  Friday's action will feature the four women's quarterfinal contests at the same times.  Both the men's and the women's semifinals will commence on Saturday, March 9, as the men take to the court at noon and 2:30 p.m., followed by the women at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.  The men's GLVC Champion will be crowned on Sunday, March 10, at noon, followed by the women's final at 2:30 p.m.