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

Box Score

SOMERS, Wis. (Dec. 3, 2014)-- Blazing the nets in the second half tipped the scales in favor of the home team on Wednesday evening as the University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball team hit 75 percent of its shots in the final 20 minutes of play, downing Cardinal Stritch University 91-79 in a non-conference contest inside DeSimone Gymnasium. Jimmy Gavin stole the show for the Rangers, scoring 30 points in a game featuring 10 lead changes and eight ties.

The visiting Wolves (5-5) surged to an early 12-6 advantage just over five minutes into the game. An Andy Mazurczak three followed by a Zygimantas Riauka layup and a Mohamed Mohamed fast break dunk negated the deficit, giving the hosts the 13-12 lead. UW-Parkside's buffer swelled to seven points with 7:54 left in the opening stanza before Stritch scratched back into the game, reclaiming the lead on a Teadric Anderson layup with five ticks left, enjoying a 34-33 lead at intermission.

Parkside (5-1) briefly seized the lead on a Gavin three with 18:20 left in the game but the Wolves quickly reestablished a five-point edge. A Kendale McCullum layup gave the Rangers a 52-51 advantage with 11:51 left in the game before opening up a six-point lead with 9:26 left off an Espen Fjaerstad trey. Stritch counterpunched with the next nine points before the homestanding Rangers took the lead for good on a pair of Gavin free throws with 5:13 left in the game. UW-Parkside hit 14 of its 16 free throws down the stretch to pull away and ice the 12-point win.

Gavin drilled eight of his 11 attempts from the floor while hitting 12-of-13 from the charity stripe, collecting a season-high 30 points to pace all scorers. Riauka added 18 points with seven boards and four assists while Mazurczak dropped 18 points while grabbing five rebounds.

Tony Smit led Cardinal Stritch, scoring 26 points while dishing out seven assists while Chad Mazur added 16 points.

UW-Parkside shot 46.7 percent (14-for-30) from the field in the opening half before torching the nets in the second half, shooting 75 percent (15-for-20) from the floor to end the game shooting at a 58 percent clip. UW-Parkside limited Stritch to shooting just 47.5 percent (28-for-59) on the game and made more free throws (26) than the Wolves had trips to the line (23). The Rangers additionally owned a 34-25 rebounding edge in the non-conference win.

The Rangers return to the hardwood tomorrow night, hosting Silver Lake College at 7 p.m.