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

Box Score

MADISON, Wis. (Nov. 5, 2014)-- The two-time defending Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division Champion University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball team hung tough in first half but was unable to match the firepower of the Big Ten Juggernaut and third-ranked University of Wisconsin Badgers on Wednesday night, falling 77-40 in an exhibition in front of 17,279 fans inside the Kohl Center.

The Badgers' Bronson Koenig tallied the game's first bucket with Jimmy Gavin leveling the score at 2-2 the following possession. Wisconsin staked an early 12 point advantage but a Mohamed Mohamed three and a fast break layup from Kendale McCullum pulled the Rangers within seven with 11:23 left in the opening stanza.

The buffer was seven with 6:50 left in the opening half but Wisconsin began pulling away, scoring 17 of the next 25 points, owning a 46-30 break at the intermission.

The Badgers, a Final Four participant from a season ago, maintained a comfortable margin the entire second half en route to the 37-point exhibition win,

Jimmy Gavin led Parkside with 15 points, shooting six-for-14 from the floor while Mohamed canned a pair of treys to finish with six points while Jalen Currie tacked on five off the bench.

Preseason Division II All-American Zygimantas Riauka had the daunting task of covering Division I preseason All-American Frank Kaminsky, finishing with just two points but grabbing four rebounds and collecting a game-high three blocks. Jordan Mach added four rebounds while Cameron Frank had a game-high three steals.

Four Rangers ended the night in double figures with Kaminsky leading the way with 19 points and 11 boards. Nigel Hayes offered up 13 points and 11 rebounds with Traevon Jackson and Josh Gasser collecting 15 and 11 points, respectively.

"The first half gave people a glimpse of the team we could be," said Head Coach Luke Reigel. "The size inside gave us so much trouble. We were able to get to the rim but we couldn't finish"

"Overall we played hard. We could play more efficient on offense but this is something we can build on and we'll get a lot better because of tonight."

UW-Parkside shot 40.6 percent (13-for-32) from the field in the opening half but went ice cold in the second 20 minutes of play, finishing the game shooting at a 28.1 percent (16-for-57) clip. Wisconsin shot 47.5 percent (29-for-61) for the game and drained 42.1 percent (eight-for-19) of its attempts from beyond the arc.

The Rangers open the lid on the regular season in nine days, jetting off to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico where they will face the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon.