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

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 29, 2014)-- The 18th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad puts its nine-game winning streak on the line this week, heading to the Hoosier State for a pair of games against Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division foes. The East Division leading Rangers face Saint Joseph's College on Thursday night before closing the week on Saturday at 10th-ranked University of Indianapolis.

UW-Parkside travels to Rensselaer, Ind. on Thursday to take on the Pumas at 7:30 p.m. before closing the road swing on Saturday against the Greyhounds at 3 p.m. (Eastern Time). Live stats and audio will be provided for both games while video will also be available for the UIndy game. Mark Albanese will be on the call on Thursday with Steve Kratochvil and Jim Kramer teaming up for the broadcast on Saturday with the audio feed available online and on local airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (16-2, 9-0 GLVC) remains the lone unbeaten squad in GLVC play and holds a two-game lead in the GLVC East Division standings after knocking off three ranked squads last week. The memorable week began with a 94-88 win over No. 23 Lewis University on Monday night as Colt Grandstaff unleashed a career-high 32 points on the Flyers. UW-Parkside weathered a late game surge by No. 7 Bellarmine University on Thursday, emerging with the 76-74 win thanks in a large part to a 30-point effort from Jimmy Gavin before finishing off the week with an 82-71 win over the No. 9 University of Southern Indiana to solidify the Rangers buffer atop the standings and increase the program's win streak to nine games.

UW-Parkside features a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging in double figures. Zygimantas Riauka leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.6 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game while collecting a team-best 35 blocks. Jimmy Gavin is a spark off the bench, contributing 15.7 ppg while shooting 44.6 percent from beyond the arc. Colt Grandstaff averages 13.4 ppg while Jordan Mach and Andy Mazurczak chip in 13.1 and 12.1 ppg. Mach leads the team in three-pointers made with 51 on the season while Mazurczak leads the team in assists, averaging 5.4 per game.

The Rangers rank in the Top 20 nationally in five statistical categories. UW-Parkside ranks second in the GLVC and third nationally in field goal percentage, hitting 53.1 percent of shots on the year while leading the league and ranking sixth nationally in assists per game (18.8). The Rangers rank seventh in assist to turnover ratio (1.63), while ranking eighth in total assists (338) and 20th in scoring margin (+13.2).

Individually, Riauka ranks 10th nationally and third in the GLVC in field goal percentage, hitting 64.7 percent of his attempts while ranking 11th in double doubles on the season and 25th in total rebounds. Mazurczak sits 13th nationally in assist to turnover ratio (3.23) while sitting 29th in assists per game.

Jan. 30 vs. Saint Joseph's College at Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse (Live Stats)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Pumas have met 36 times with SJC owning a 23-13 advantage in the all-time series. UW-Parkside swept the season series in 2012-2013, outlasting the Pumas 109-99 in triple overtime on Jan. 31 in Rensselaer before clinching the GLVC East Division crown with a 97-68 blowout victory on Feb. 21.

About the Pumas: Saint Joseph's (4-15, 1-8 GLVC) heads into Thursday looking to shake off a seven-game slump, having last won on Jan. 5 against Missouri University S&T. SJC has yielded 100 or more points in four of those losses, including a 118-85 setback to then No. 14 University of Indianapolis.

The Pumas had a shot to win on Saturday at the University of Illinois Springfield. SJC trailed by one with seven seconds left before a traveling violation ended any hopes of a Puma win, falling 76-75.

Cameron Vines is the Pumas leading point man, averaging 24.2 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. Jon Smith tallies 17.2 ppg and a team-best 8.7 rpg while Maiscei Grier and David Hill contribute 8.8 and 8.1 ppg, respectively.

Feb. 1 vs. University of Indianapolis at Nicoson Hall (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: Parkside and UIndy have squared off on 35 occasions with the Greyhounds holding a 23-12 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams split the season series in 2012-2013 with the home team prevailing each time. UW-Parkside knocked off then No. 15 UIndy 77-71 on Feb. 2 in Somers before the Hounds returned the favor on Feb. 23, claiming the 72-70 win inside Nicoson Hall.

About the Greyhounds: Indianapolis (15-2, 7-2 GLVC) heads into Thursday's clash with Lewis riding a three-game win streak. Both of the Hounds losses this season have come on the road against Top 10 squads, stumbling 83-69 on Jan. 5 to defending national champion and then third-ranked Drury University while also falling 73-64 on Jan. 18 at the hands of then No. 10 Southern Indiana.

Since then the Greyhounds have rolled off three in a row, blowing away SJC 118-85 before downing UIS 104-79 and McKendree 99-91. UIndy has yet to lose inside Nicoson Hall this season, owning a 7-0 record inside the building and a 21-3 mark at home over the last 24 games.

Reece Cheatham leads the Hounds in scoring, dropping 15.8 points per game while Joe Lawson is close behind, offering 15.1 ppg and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game. Leland Brown and Tyrae Robinson chip in 12.2 and 12.1 ppg.

Niner: UW-Parkside's nine-game GLVC winning streak ties a program record for longest win streak in conference play. The Rangers rattled off nine in a row last season en route to an East Division title. Last year's run began on Jan. 24 and lasted until Feb. 23. That stretch, saw the Rangers knock off six ranked opponents, including then third-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan College.

21 Jump Street: Jimmy Gavin was named the GLVC Player of the Week on Monday for his performance last week, becoming the third Ranger this season to claim the honor. The sophomore guard came off the bench and averaged 22.7 points, 3.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds for the week, helping the Green and White roll a trio of ranked teams. Gavin joins Zygimantas Riauka (Jan. 12) and Jordan Mach (Nov. 11) as Player of the Week honorees.

Colt .22: Not to be overlooked was the stellar play of teammate Colt Grandstaff who capped the week averaging 20.3 points per game. The Arizona native tallied a career-best 32 points against Lewis before following up with 11 against Bellarmine and 18 against USI on Saturday.

Home Cooking: UW-Parkside has won 13 of its last 14 GLVC games inside DeSimone Gymnasium. That stretch includes seven wins over nationally-ranked opponents and four wins over Top 10 teams.

GLVC in the Top 25: The GLVC has five teams currently ranked in the NABC Division II Top 25 Poll. UW-Parkside makes its poll debut this week at No. 18 while defending GLVC and national champion Drury University remains fifth. Indianapolis is 10th followed by Southern Indiana at No. 16 and Lewis at No. 17. Bellarmine drops out of the rankings and appears in the others receiving votes section of the poll with 47 points, one vote shy of 25th.

80-Point Club: UW-Parkside heads into Thursday averaging 84.3 points per game and has scored at least 80 points in 10 of the 15 regular season games in 2013-2014. Despite posting a 20-9 record and winning the GLVC East Division, the Rangers scored more than 80 points on just seven occasions all last season.

Pod-demonium: The GLVC has broken the two divisions into pods of four for the 2013-2014 season. Pod mates will play each other in a home and home series and play all other opponents once. UW-Parkside's pod includes University of Illinois Springfield, McKendree University and Lewis University.

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 137 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.