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

SOMERS, Wis. (Dec. 2 2014)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball team looks to rebound after dropping its home opener on Saturday, welcoming a pair of in-state foes to DeSimone Gymnasium on back-to-back nights. The Rangers face Cardinal Stritch University on Wednesday before taking on Silver Lake College the following night.
 
Both games tipoff at 7 p.m. inside DeSimone Gymnasium. Live stats, video and audio will be provided for both non-conference contests. Jim Kramer and Mark Olsen will be on the call on Wednesday night while Olsen and Steve Kratochvil will be providing the commentary on Thursday's audio feed. Wednesday's contest can be heard over the airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM throughout southeastern Wisconsin while the Silver Lake game will be broadcast online only on gatewaysportsweb.org.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (4-1) rattled off four straight wins to begin the season before suffering an 80-79 setback to Walsh University on Saturday in the Rangers' home opener.
 
The Rangers led by as many as 12 points against the visiting Cavaliers but were unable to bottle up the hot shooting squad in the second half as Walsh squeaked out the win despite owning the lead for just 75 seconds over the course of the 40 minute game.
 
UW-Parkside led 79-77 with 28 seconds left before Walsh's Jeff Copeland strung together a three-point play with a jumper and a free throw to give the visitors the lead with nine ticks left. The Rangers misfired on its next two shots from the floor as the Cavaliers sent Parkside its first home loss in 12 games.
 
Zygimantas Riauka led the Rangers with 18 points and seven rebounds while Jimmy Gavin had 18 points and five assists.
 
On the season, Riauka paces UW-Parkside, averaging 17.6 points per game, 8.4 rebounds per game while collecting 12 of the team's 14 blocks this season. Gavin adds 16.6 ppg and 4.8 rpg while distributing 4.4 assists per game with 12 steals. Andy Mazurczak is the third Ranger averaging in double figures, netting 10.8 ppg while shooting 69.7 percent from the floor. Jordan Mach adds 7.0 ppg while Chavares Flanigan adds 6.2 ppg off the bench.
 
The Rangers enter the week outscoring opponents by an average of 13.6 points per game while shooting 54.1 percent from the field.
 
Dec. 3 vs. Cardinal Stritch University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Wolves have met five times on the hardwood with UW-Parkside winning all five encounters. The Rangers downed Stritch 77-64 last season on Nov. 30 inside DeSimone Gymnasium, utilizing an 18-0 run midway through the first half to seize control of the game.
 
About the Wolves: Cardinal Stritch (6-4, 2-0 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference), the 2013 NAIA Division II National Champions, make the short trek to Somers having won three straight and five of its last six games.
 
Stritch struggled to open the season, netting just one victory in its first four games before catching fire with its recent win streak. The run began on Nov. 15, knocking off defending NCAA Division III Champion University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 71-66. The Wolves followed up that victory with an 87-62 decision over Saint Xavier University four days later.
 
Stritch fell 87-58 to Division II Winona State University on Nov. 22 before earning a 73-68 overtime win over CCAC foe Trinity International University on Nov. 25. The Wolves blasted Ashford University 78-52 on Nov. 29 to open the University of Wisconsin-Stout Tournament and claimed the title with an 87-68 win over the host Blue Devils the following day.
 
Five Wolves average in double figures with Tony Smit leading the way, averaging 21.5 points per game and 4.5 assists per game. Tyler Semenas adds 11.2 ppg and a team-leading 7.4 rebounds per game while Garrett Borgrud and Chad Mazur chip in 11.1 and 10.9 ppg, respectively. Matt Reinke is the fifth Wolve registering in double figures, averaging 10.2 ppg.
 
Dec. 4 vs. Silver Lake College at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
About the Lakers: Silver Lake (3-9) looks to snap a five-game slide against four-year colleges, having last tasting victory on Nov. 11 in a 92-51 blowout at the expense of Northland International University. The Lakers, members of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), have notched two of their three wins at home, owning a 2-0 mark in games played in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
 
Not affiliated with a conference, the Lakers have played a hodge-podge schedule so far featuring a mix of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA, and junior college teams. UW-Parkside is the Lakers' third Division II opponent this season falling 92-64 to Walsh on Nov. 20 and suffering a 91-69 setbcak to Malone University two days later.
 
John Duke leads the Lakers, averaging 20.8 points per game, 11.0 rebounds per game and 4.4 assists per game. Jordan Portee adds 9.8 ppg while Stevens Alexis pours on 8.5 ppg while grabbing 7.8 rpg.
 
On Wisconsin: UW-Parkside has faced in-state foes on 19 occasions since the 2003-2004 season, winning 17 of those games, including the last seven. The Rangers last setback to a Badger State opponent was on Nov. 15, 2009, falling 86-81 to Concordia University Wisconsin. Parkside's only other in-state loss in the past 12 years was an 87-50 defeat to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Nov. 23, 2004. The Panthers went on to win the Horizon League that season and advance to the NCAA Sweet 16.

The Rangers own wins over Cardinal Stritch, Northland International University, Saint Norbert College, Silver Lake College and Viterbo University over the last 12 seasons and own an all-time record of 106-18 against Wisconsin private colleges and universities.
 
Pod-demonium: The GLVC continues its pod system for the 2014-2015, retaining the setup of two divisions with two pods of four. 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 Prognostications: Despite winning the GLVC East Division in each of the last two seasons, the Rangers were picked fourth in the annual GLVC Coaches' Poll.
 
UW-Parkside garnered 90 total points, including two first-place endorsements to secure fourth in the GLVC East. Bellarmine University is the division's favorite for the second straight season, amassing 102 points and six first place votes. Lewis University is slotted at No. 2 in the East with five first place votes and 96 points while East Co-Champion University of Indianapolis is third with 93 points and three first place nods.
 
Defending GLVC Tournament Champion University of Southern Indiana is fifth with 79 points followed by the University of Illinois Springfield in sixth (39 points), Saint Joseph's College in seventh (36 points) with McKendree University occupying the cellar with 33 points.
 
In the West Division, 2013 National Champion Drury University collected 120 points, securing 15 first place votes. University of Missouri-Saint Louis scooped up the lone remaining first place endorsement, securing 95 total points to claim the No. 2 spot. Quincy University with 79 points and Truman State University with 77 points round out the upper half of the West in third and fourth, respectively.
 
Maryville University occupies the fifth spot with 72 points followed by William Jewell College in sixth (53 points), Missouri University S&T in seventh (42 points) and Rockhurst University in eighth (30 points).
 
Home Cooking: UW-Parkside has won 17 of its last 18 GLVC games inside DeSimone Gymnasium. That stretch includes seven wins over nationally-ranked opponents and four wins over Top 10 teams. The Rangers have additionally won 12 of their last 13 games at home.

20-Win Club: The Rangers eclipsed the 20-win barrier for the second consecutive season in 2013-2014, marking the first time since 1987 that the program has notched back-to-back 20-win campaigns and the first time since joining NCAA Division II in 1995. UW-Parkside pieced together three in a row from 1984-85 to 1986-87 while the team was a member of the NAIA. The Rangers were 22-7 in 1984-85, 21-9 in 1985-86 and 22-8 in 1986-87.

Reigel's Rangers: Head Coach Luke Reigel begins his 12th season as head coach and his 15th season overall at UW-Parkside in 2014-2015.

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 149 wins and has guided the Rangers to three NCAA Tournament berths.

Returning to the sidelines will be associate coach Keven Bradley and assistant Tom Reigel while Andy Fitzgerald joins the staff as assistant from Edgewood College.