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

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 7, 2014)-- Undefeated in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad hits the road for the first time in league play, heading down to Saint Louis to battle a pair of West Division rivals. The Rangers face University of Missouri-Saint Louis on Thursday before taking on Maryville University on Saturday.

The Rangers and Tritons square off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday inside the Mark Twain Building while hitting the court at 3 p.m. on Saturday against the Saints inside Moloney Arena. Live stats, video and audio will be provided for both games. Mark Albanese will be on the call on the audio feed available online and on local airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (9-2, 2-0 GLVC) embarks on a four-game GLVC road swing having won three of its last four games, including a pair of wins over GLVC West Division squads last weekend. The Rangers rallied from a 19-point deficit on Friday to emerge with an improbable 73-17 victory over Quincy University while dismantling Truman State University 78-57 on Sunday afternoon.

Against the Hawks on Friday, UW-Parkside forced 25 turnovers and utilized an 18-2 scoring run in the second half to crawl back into the contest before an Andy Mazurczak layup and free throw pushed the home side in front for good with 2:48 left.

Jimmy Gavin the Rangers with 21 points off the bench while Zygimantas Riauka tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds.

On Sunday against Truman, the Rangers dominated the second half, utilizing a 37-7 run in the second half and finished the contest shooting 55.4 percent (31-for-56) while limiting the Bulldogs to a paltry 39 percent (23-for-59) from the floor. Gavin came off the bench and tallied a season-high 22 points, including six three-pointers during the team's 37-7 scoring bonanza while Riauka tallied 17 points and 12 boards.

A spark off the bench, Gavin leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game. The sophomore guard is a dangerous threat from distance, hitting 46.8 percent (22-for-47) of his shots from three-point range. Riauka averages 15.5 ppg and a team-best 8.9 rebounds per game, having finished in double figures on five occasions this season, including each of the last four games. Jordan Mach averages 14.3 ppg while Andy Mazurczak and Colt Grandstaff average 12.7 and 11.8 ppg, respectively.

The Rangers ranked fifth nationally and fourth in the GLVC in field goal percentage, hitting 52.8 percent from the floor. Parkside additionally ranks 15th nationally in assists per game (18.3) and 22nd nationally in scoring margin at +15.2.

Jan. 9 vs. Missouri-Saint Louis at the Mark Twain Building (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Tritons have tangled 28 times with UW-Parkside owning a 17-11 advantage in the all-time series. The teams last met on Jan. 5, 2012 with host UMSL winning 79-71.

About the Tritons: Missouri-Saint Louis (9-2, 3-0 GLVC) heads into Thursday's clash riding a seven game win streak and currently sits atop the West Division standings with a 3-0 mark. The Tritons last setback was a 81-75 defeat on the road against Upper Iowa University on Nov. 19. Since then UMSL has rolled off seven straight, including conference wins over Maryville (74-69), McKendree University (W, 105-78) and University of Illinois Springfield (69-67).

The Tritons are a perfect 7-0 at home this season inside the Mark Twain Building and finished last season with an 11-3 mark in home games.

Aareon Smith leads UMSL in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.7 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game. Femi John adds 12.9 ppg and 5.2 rpg while Michael Weber chips in 11.8 ppg. Darian Carharn and Tylor Wimbish each average 11.5 ppg.

Jan. 11 vs. Maryville at Moloney Arena (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Saints have met just three times with UW-Parkside holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. The Rangers downed Maryville 76-62 the last time the two met back on Jan. 7, 2012 in Saint Louis.

About the Saints: Maryville (7-3, 1-1 GLVC) heads into Thursday's showdown with Lewis University having won three straight games. The Saints opened GLVC play with a 74-69 setback to UMSL before regrouping with wins over Missouri Baptist University (79-45) and Cedarville University (68-62 OT). The Saints downed Illinois Springfield 81-67 on Friday before their game against McKendree was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Armon Provo leads the Saint offense, averaging 16.7 points per game. Asa Toney averages 13.1 ppg while grabbing 4.5 rebounds per game and dishing out 4.1 assists per game while Trae Pemberton contributes 10.2 ppg.

Maryville ranks in the top 25 nationally in four statistical categories, including scoring defense where they lead the GLVC. The Saints rank ninth in field goal percentage (51.9 percent), 13th in scoring defense (63.5 ppg), 20th in scoring margin (+15.2)and 22nd in assist to turnover ratio (1.48).

Z is for Zygi: Zygimantas Riauka has been a force this season for the Green and White, finishing in double figures in all but one game while logging five double-doubles this season. The junior has posted 20 or more points in four games this season, including a season-high 21 points against the University of Minnesota-Duluth on Nov. 26.

He's on Fire: Jimmy Gavin, a sophomore transfer from Bradley University, has been unstoppable the past two games, posting a career-high 21 points against Quincy before literally one-upping the performance with a 22-point outing against Truman State on Sunday. Against Truman, Gavin was eight-for-nine off the bench with six three-pointers.

80-Point Club: UW-Parkside heads into Thursday averaging 83.9 points per game and has scored at least 80 points in seven of the 11 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.

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 130 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.