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

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 28, 2015)-- The 20th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad looks to establish a new winning streak this week, hosting a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rivals. The Rangers face their second straight nationally ranked foe on Thursday night with top-ranked University of Indianapolis coming to DeSimone Gymnasium before facing Saint Joseph's College on Saturday.
 
Parkside and UIndy hit the floor at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in a showdown of ranked squads while the Rangers and Pumas tipoff at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats, video and audio will be provided for both games. Steve Kratochvil will provide the play-by-play while Jim Kramer will add color commentary on the audio feed available online and over the airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM throughout southeastern Wisconsin.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (16-2, 8-1 GLVC) saw its 12 game win streak come to a close on Saturday, falling 75-52 then seventh-ranked Bellarmine University inside Knights Hall. Bellarmine collected 11 of the game's opening 14 points and never looked back, owning a 17-point halftime spread while suppressing the Rangers to shooting just 24.1 percent in the second half.
 
UW-Parkside's week began last Monday, escaping Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, Illinois with a 69-65 victory over nemesis Lewis University. Jordan Mach emerged as the hero of the game, collecting two steals in the final minute to cement the Ranger win. Parkside continued its momentum three days later in Evansville, Indiana, crushing host University of Southern Indiana 73-50 for the squad's 12th consecutive win.
 
Zygimantas Riauka leads the Rangers in scoring (16.9 points per game), rebounding (8.7 per game), and blocks (51) while dishing out 2.8 assists per game and racking up six double-doubles in 2014-2015. Jimmy Gavin adds 15.6 ppg and 4.2 rpg while adding a team-best 3.1 apg along with 30 steals while Andy Mazurczak chips in 12.5 ppg. Mach has hit a team-leading 43 three-pointers on the season, averaging 8.5 ppg while shooting 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. Mohamed Mohamed adds 7.1 ppg off the bench, shooting 44.7 percent from distance while Jalen Currie averages 4.6 rpg.
 
UW-Parkside ranks 15th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 62.4 points per game while ranking 21st in scoring margin (+13.6) and 23rd in field goal percentage (49.5 percent).
 
Jan. 29 vs. University of Indianapolis at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Greyhounds have met 36 times on the hardwood with UIndy enjoying a 24-12 advantage in the all-time series. Indianapolis snapped a 10-game Ranger win streak last season, downing visiting Parkside 82-60 on Feb. 1 inside Nicoson Hall.
 
About the Greyhounds: No. 1 Indianapolis (17-0, 9-0 GLVC) comes to DeSimone Gymnasium riding a 17-game winning streak and owning three wins against Top 25 opponents. UIndy netted a 78-73 win over then No. 9 Barry University on Dec. 12 before taking down then No. 19 Drury University by a 74-57 score on Jan. 2 and slipping past then No. 4 Bellarmine 66-62 on Jan. 15. 
 
The Hounds have been simply dominant this season with the Barry and Bellarmine contests the only two games this season the squad hasn't won by at least 17 points. UIndy ranks second in the nation in scoring margin, rolling up teams by an average margin of +24.0 while sitting second nationally in field goal percentage (52.3 percent) and third in assists per game (20.7). The Hounds sit sixth nationally in scoring defense, yielding just 60.9 points per game and rank seventh in Division II in rebounding margin, owning a +9.9 advantage.
 
Four UIndy players average in double figures with Joe Lawson leading the way with 19.4 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game. Jordan Loyd adds 13.3 ppg and 4.2 rpg while Brennan McElroy averages 11.9 ppg and 9.2 rpg while hitting 71.2 percent of his shots from the field. Dai-Jon Parker chips in 10.0 ppg while Lucas Barker tallied 9.4 ppg. Lawson, Loyd, McElroy, Parker and Barker have started all 17 games this season for the Hounds.
 
UIndy will be playing just its fourth true road game on Thursday, having played 10 games inside the friendly confines of Nicoson Hall and logging four contests at neutral sites this season.
 
Jan. 31 vs. Saint Joseph's College at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: Parkside and Saint Joseph's have tangled 37 times with the Pumas owning a 23-14 advantage in the all-time series. Last season the visiting Rangers shot 61.2 percent (41-for-67) from the floor, including 57.1 percent (12-for-21) from three-point range, dismantling host SJC 99-71 inside Scharf Fieldhouse on Jan. 30.
 
About the Pumas: Saint Joseph's (5-14, 2-7 GLVC) snapped a four-game slide on Saturday afternoon, downing McKendree University 70-63 to cap off a four-game homestand. SJC led by just two with 1:55 remaining in the game but the visiting Bearcats misfired on their final three shots of the game allowing the Pumas to pull away and net the seven-point win.
 
The victory snapped a four-game streak of misery for the Pumas, beginning on Jan. 10 with a 67-66 loss to host William Jewell College. SJC returned home and fell 78-66 to Southern Indiana before stumbling 91-71 to nationally-ranked Bellarmine on Jan. 17 and to the University of Illinois Springfield on Jan. 22 (66-60).
 
Cameron Vines ranks second in the GLVC and leads the Pumas in scoring, netting 20.1 points per game while also grabbing a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game. Nathan Tidwell adds 10.9 ppg and 5.2 rpg while Dawson Gore contributes 8.8 ppg. David Hill leads the Pumas in assists, notching 3.1 per game while Jordan Seele has a team-best 21 blocks.
 
The Pumas rank 15th in the GLVC (out of 16) in both scoring defense (80.9 points per game) and scoring margin (-5.7) while sitting last in the league in rebounding margin (-3.9).
 
NABC Poll: The National Association of Basketball Coaches released its ninth installment of the NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll on Jan. 27 with three GLVC squads appearing in the rankings. UW-Parkside appears in the poll for the third consecutive week, sinking one position to No. 20 while the University of Indianapolis holds strong at No. 1 for the second straight poll. Bellarmine University is the third GLVC East institution in the rankings, climbing one spot to sixth.

GLVC Januarys: The Rangers opened conference play 4-0 for the third straight season and were 8-0 for the second time in three years. The Green and White rattled off 10 straight wins before suffering its first league setback in 2013-2014 while collecting four straight to open the 2012-2013 slate. The hot start in both seasons ended up paying dividends for UW-Parkside, later going on to hoist the GLVC East Division crown in both years.
 
December to Remember: The Rangers capped off the final month of 2014 with a perfect 4-0 record. UW-Parkside opened the month with a 91-79 win over in-state foe Cardinal Stritch University on Dec. 3 before blowing out Silver Lake College 89-51 the next day. The Rangers bested Upper Iowa University 83-67 on Dec. 16 and closed the month with a 69-62 win over Michigan Tech University on Dec. 20 in the final non-conference game of the season.
 
Hot Start: UW-Parkside started the season 16-1 for the first time in program history. The 2001-2002 squad under the direction of Jeff Rutter opened up the year with a 9-1 mark before falling to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Edgewood College in back-to-back games.
 
Non-Conference Mastery: The Rangers wrapped up its regular season non-league slate with an 8-1 mark, posting a winning mark outside of the GLVC for the fourth consecutive season. Parkside owned a 7-1 regular season non-conference record in 2013-2014 while posting a 5-3 mark in 2012-2013 and a 7-1 record in 2011-2012. Over the past four seasons the Green and White have a 27-6 record in regular season non-conference clashes.
 
Starting 18: Through 18 games the Rangers have utilized just one starting lineup, trotting out Zygimantas Riauka, Jimmy Gavin, Andy Mazurczak, Jordan Mach, and Jalen Currie every game this season.  
 
Record Book Watch: Seniors Jordan Mach and Zygimantas Riauka continue to climb up the charts in several career statistical categories. Mach has 229 three-pointers in his career and sits 14 shy from tying Andy Schmidtmann (1986-1990) for the top spot while Riauka is sixth on the all-time list in rebounds (688) and 11th all-time in scoring (1,346).
 
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 21 of its last 23 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 20 of their last 21 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.
 
Alumni Day: The UW-Parkside Alumni Association's annual Alumni Day at the Games will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31. Alumni, friends and family are invited to attend with giveaways and complimentary food for alumni throughout the day. The cost is $10 per alumni with guests attending free of charge. To register visit: https://donate.uwp.edu/alumniday or contact University Advancement at 262-595-2039.

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 161 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.