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

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 19, 2014)-- The 25th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball team returns home and preps for its final homestand of the season as Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rivals McKendree University and University of Illinois Springfield descend upon DeSimone Gymnasium.

The Rangers begin the homestand on Thursday, hosting the Bearcats at 7:30 p.m. before squaring off against the Prairie Stars on Saturday at 3 p.m. on Senior Day. Live stats, video and audio will be provided for both games. Steve Kratochvil will be providing the play-by-play and Jim Kramer will add color commentary on the audio feed available online and on local airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (19-5, 12-3 GLVC) dropped a pair of heartbreaking games in Missouri last week, falling off its perch atop the GLVC East Division standings. It was a schizophrenic week for the Green and White, posting a season-low 52 points against second-ranked Drury University before exploding for a season-high 101 points just two days later in Rolla, Mo. The Rangers fell victim to a cross court inbounds pass as a layup with 1.4 seconds left lifted host Drury past UW-Parkside 54-52 on Feb. 13 before Missouri University S&T overcame a 17-point deficit to edge the Rangers 103-101 on Saturday.

Against the Panthers, just four Rangers scored points in a game featuring eight lead changes and seven ties. The game was tied 27-27 at the half before the Rangers netted the opening seven points of the second half. UW-Parkside led by eight-points with 15:13 left but the hosts crawled back. Drury reclaimed the lead but a pair of Andy Mazurczak free throws tied the score at 52 with 2.4 seconds left. UW-Parkside was unable to defend the Panthers cross court inbounds play as the ball found Mael Amenyedzi who converted the game-winning layup with just over one second left for his lone points of the game.

Mazurczak led the way for Parkside with 18 points. Zygimantas Riauka had 13 points and 10 rebounds while Colt Grandstaff and Jimmy Gavin added 12 and nine points, respectively.

Two days later, the Rangers enjoyed a 17-point lead in the first half against the Miners but owned just a five-point buffer at the halftime break. S&T was red-hot in the second half and rallied for the win. UW-Parkside had an open look from three point range at the buzzer but the shot lipped out for the squad's second straight two-point heartbreak.

Gavin poured on 28 points to pace all scorers while Mohamed Mohamed posted a season-high 17 points. Riauka chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds while Mazurczak and Grandstaff added 14 and 13 points, respectively.

UW-Parkside is one of seven GLVC teams that have already punched their ticket to the GLVC Tournament. With three games remaining the Rangers will look to improve their positioning and look to snag one of the four first round byes.

Riauka leads Parkside this season in scoring (16.0 points per game), rebounding (9.3 per game), field goal percentage (63.1 percent) and blocks (46). Gavin adds 15.9 ppg off the bench and shoots a team-best 45.5 percent from three-point range while Grandstaff adds 13.5 ppg. Mazurczak averages 12.9 ppg and 4.3 rpg while Jordan Mach contributes 12.2 ppg.

As a team, UW-Parkside ranks second nationally and second in the GLVC in field goal percentage (52.5 percent) while sitting eighth in assists per game (18.4) and ninth in assist to turnover ratio (1.57).

Feb. 20 vs. McKendree University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: UW-Parkside and McKendree have clashed four times with the Rangers winning all four. Parkside defeated McKendree 75-71 on Jan. 18 in Lebanon, Ill., leading by as many as 14-points and weather a late Bearcat rally to hold on for the four-point win.

About the Bearcats: McKendree (9-14, 3-12 GLVC) rolls into Somers looking to snap a three-game skid. The Bearcats piled on 106 points on Feb. 8 to down visiting Missouri S&T 106-99 but have since lost three straight, falling to William Jewell College (83-79) on Feb. 13, Rockhurst University (88-83) on Feb. 15 and Maryville University (75-72) on Monday.

McKendree's high octane offense has scored 100 or more points on five occasions this season, including three times in GLVC play. Eight of the Bearcats nine victories have come at home inside the Statham Sports Center as McKendree are just 1-7 in away games.

Clinton Happe and Mike DiGregorio pace the Bearcats in scoring, starting all 23 games and averaging 16.3 and 15.6 points per game, respectively. Matt Holmes adds 11.8 ppg and a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game while Logan Carson adds 10.1 ppg and Will Kirksey adds 9.9 ppg. 

Feb. 22 vs. University of Illinois Springfield at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Prairie Stars have met eight times all-time with UW-Parkside holding the upper hand with a 5-3 record. UW-Parkside won the first meeting this season on Jan. 16, rallying from a 10-point deficit to win 94-81 in Springfield.

About the Prairie Stars: Illinois Springfield (8-15, 4-11 GLVC) heads to Lewis having lost two of its last three games. UIS was edged 66-59 by Drury on Feb. 8 before hitting the road and surviving Rockhurst with an 82-81 win on Feb. 13. The Prairie Stars closed last week in Liberty, Mo., where UIS fell 87-65 to host William Jewell.

UIS has struggled on the road this season, owning a 2-9 mark in games played outside of Springfield while securing just one road win outside of the State of Illinois.

Illinois Springfield boasts five players averaging in double figures, led by Jacob Williams who averages 13.0 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game. Brandon Snowden tallies 10.8 ppg while Dylan Sparlman adds 10.6 ppg and a team-best 5.9 rpg. Regen Bruenger and Jamall Millison each average 10.3 ppg while Kentrell King dishes out a team-best 4.2 assists per game.

Colt 22: Saturday the Rangers will honor the squad's lone senior Colt Grandstaff. The Arizona native came to Parkside after spending a year at Scottsdale Community College. The guard was a key contributor off the bench last season, averaging 10.1 points per game and helping the Rangers win the GLVC East Division for the first time ever. This season Grandstaff has started all 24 games and averages 13.5 ppg. Grandstaff has scored 772 points over the last three years while grabbing 216 rebounds and dishing out 151 assists. Hailing from Apache Junction, Grandstaff has drained 103 three-pointers while netting 71 steals in 79 career games.

iPad Mini: UW-Parkside students in attendance at Thursday's game have a chance to win an iPad mini. Students will earn tickets by attending both the men's and women's games. Four lucky winners will get drawn during the men's game with the four squaring off during a halftime shooting contest. Two will survive and square off in a scooter race with the winner claiming the iPad.

10 in a Row: UW-Parkside's 10-0 mark in January sets a program record for consecutive GLVC wins and surpassing last season's nine-game win streak. The 2012-2013 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.

National Stat Rankings: Zygimantas Riauka sits 17th nationally in field goal percentage (63.1 percent), 19th in total rebounds (223) while Andy Mazurczak is 28th in the nation in total assists with 128.

Home Cooking: UW-Parkside has won 15 of its last 16 GLVC games inside DeSimone Gymnasium. That stretch includes seven wins over nationally-ranked opponents and four wins over Top 10 teams.

20-Win Club: The Rangers sit one win shy of eclipsing the 20-win barrier for the second consecutive season. UW-Parkside hasn't had back-to-back 20-win campaigns since the squad 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. Parkside has never had consecutive 20-win seasons since joining NCAA Division II in 1995.

GLVC in the Top 25: The GLVC continues to boast five teams in the NABC Top 25, including two squad's among the Top 5. Drury University headlines the rankings at No. 2 with a pair of first place votes while University of Indianapolis in ranked fourth. The University of Southern Indiana moves up two spots to No. 20, Lewis University falls four slots to No. 23 and UW-Parkside sinks nine spots to 25th.

80-Point Club: UW-Parkside heads into Thursday averaging 83.1 points per game and has scored at least 80 points in 15 of the 24 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.

GLVC Tournament: The top 12 teams qualify for the 2014 Deaconess GLVC Tournament with the top four squads all receiving first round byes. The first round will be conducted on Sunday, March 2, with the top-seeded teams not receiving byes hosting on-campus. The GLVC Quarterfinals and beyond begin on March 6 inside the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. To pre-order session passes, visiting the UW-Parkside athletic department office.

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 141 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.