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

SOMERS, Wis. (Dec. 2, 2015)-- The three-time defending Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division Champion University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad opens its title defense this weekend, traveling to the Hoosier State to open up GLVC divisional play against the University of Indianapolis and Saint Joseph's College.
 
The Rangers and Greyhounds hit the court at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Thursday night while UW-Parkside and Saint Joseph's are set to clash at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats, video, and audio of both games will be available.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (4-1) heads into conference play looking to rebound from its lone setback of the season, stumbling 84-58 to 18th-ranked Ferris State University on Saturday. The loss came just five days after earning an 80-76 win over Walsh University in the Rangers' first road game of the 2015-2016 regular season.
 
Against Walsh, the Rangers trailed 60-56 with 9:53 left before utilizing an 11-1 run to seize the lead for good. Jalen Currie ignited the run, canning a three while a pair of Jake Verhagen free throws in the waning moments sealed the game for UW-Parkside. A balanced scoring attack saw five Rangers end the night in double figures, including Kendale McCullum who tallied a career-best 19 points.
 
Against Ferris State, the nationally-ranked Bulldogs were on fire in the opening half, staking a 49-32 halftime lead after shooting 64.5 percent (20-for-31) from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Bulldogs owned a comfortable double-digit barrier the entire second stanza, snapping the Rangers' home winning streak at 16 games. Alexander Brown led the Rangers with 11 points while Goran Zagorac tallied 10 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
 
Three Rangers head into the GLVC slate averaging double-digit scoring with Brown leading the way with a 16.6 points per game average. Brown has finished in double figures in all five games this season and leads the team in threes with 11 on the season, shooting 55.0 percent from the perimeter. Andy Mazurczak adds 14.8 ppg and sits fourth in the GLVC with 4.0 assists per game while McCullum adds 12.8 ppg with a league leading 2.5 steals per game. Zagorac ranks second in the GLVC in rebounding, averaging 10.0 per game while adding 9.8 ppg on the offensive end while fellow big man Kyle Flanagan adds 9.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg.
 
UW-Parkside leads the 16-team GLVC in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 45.1 percent of its chances from beyond the arc while sitting second in the league in scoring margin at +14.2. The Green and White additionally rank third in scoring defense (70.0 ppg) and fourth in scoring offense (84.2 ppg).
 
Dec. 3 vs. University of Indianapolis at Nicoson Hall (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Greyhounds have battled 37 times on the hardwood with UIndy enjoying a 24-13 advantage in the all-time series. The then No. 20 Rangers knocked off No. 1 ranked UIndy 72-68 on Jan. 29 inside DeSimone Gymnasium in the lone meeting last season. Andy Mazurczak finished with 17 points in the upset win while Jalen Currie added 11.
 
About the Greyhounds: Indianapolis (4-2) heads into Thursday's clash riding a three-game winning streak. UIndy dropped a 92-87 nailbiter to Hillsdale College In the home opener on Nov. 17 before rebounding with a 93-75 win over Lake Superior State University on Nov. 21. The Hounds came away from the Tiffin University Thanksgiving Tournament undefeated last weekend, downing Seton Hill University 75-72 before unseating host Tiffin 77-56 on Saturday.
 
Against Seton Hill, Jordan Loyd generated a steal in the final seconds to preserve the win and finished the day with 13 points and 11 boards. The next day against Tiffin, the visiting Greyhounds led wire-to-wire in the 21-point blowout victory to win the tournament. Loyd paced Indianapolis with a game-high 25 points.
 
Loyd is tied for second in the GLVC in scoring, averaging 21.2 points per game while also leading the team in rebounds with 7.0 per game. Eric Davidson chips in 13.2 ppg, hitting 3.5 threes per game while Joe Retic adds 11.7 ppg. Lucas Barker distributes 4.7 assists per game, ranking second in the GLVC, while adding 8.0 ppg.
 
Indianapolis excels at the free throw line, shooting at a 77.2 percent clip and ranking second in the GLVc while also ranking second in the conference in steals (9.0 per game).
 
Dec. 5 vs Saint Joseph's College at Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: Parkside and Saint Joseph's have tangled 38 times with the Pumas owning a 23-15 advantage in the all-time series. The Rangers blew away the Pumas last season, claiming an 82-55 victory inside DeSimone Gymnasium on Jan. 31. In that game, UW-Parkside lit up the scoreboard in the opening half, shooting 63.0 percent (17-for-27) from the field and enjoyed a 44-22 advantage at the halftime intermission.
 
About the Pumas: Saint Joseph's (2-4) dropped its opening three games of the 2015-2016 campaign but has since won two of the last three. The Pumas notched its first victory of the season on Nov. 24, crushing Ohio Mid-Western College 109-61 before downing Ohio Dominican University 74-67 three days later. SJC ran out of magic on Saturday falling 95-79 to Hillsdale College to cap off the team's Thanksgiving Classic inside Scarf Fieldhouse.
 
Saint Joseph's had six players finish in double figures in the 48-point rout of Ohio Mid-Western while Nick Jeffirs had 19 points in the Pumas' seven-point win over Ohio Dominican that featured 21 total lead changes. A sluggish start ultimately doomed Saint Joe's against Hillsdale on Saturday as the Chargers built a 51-36 halftime lead in the 16-point Puma setback.
 
Three Pumas average in double figures with Jeffirs pacing the team with 13.0 points per game and a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game. Davious Webster tallies 11.0 ppg while Davone Daniels and Nathan Tidwell average 10.5 and 9.7 ppg, respectively.
 
SJC leads the GLVC at the free throw line, hitting 77.4 percent of its chances but ranks in the bottom of the conference (16th) in scoring defense (93.4 ppg), scoring margin (-16.8), and rebounding margin (-8.0).
 
Pod-demonium: The GLVC continues its pod system for the 2015-2016 season, 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 the University of Indianapolis, Saint Joseph's College, and travel partner Lewis University. Pod mates rotate every two years with the Rangers previously paired with Lewis, University of Illinois Springfield and McKendree University from 2013-2015.
 
Preseason Prognostications: UW-Parkside is picked to finish fifth in the GLVC East in 2015-2016 according to the league's 16 head coaches.
 
The Rangers (26-4, 17-1 GLVC) accumulated 71 points in the poll, securing the No. 5 spot in the eight-team East Division and owning a 30-point cushion on sixth place University of Illinois Springfield (11-16, 5-13 GLVC). National semifinalist and GLVC East Co-Champion Bellarmine University (31-4, 17-1 GLVC) sits atop the poll, collecting 119 points and 14 of the 16 first place votes.
 
The University of Indianapolis (25-6, 14-4 GLVC) is second with 101 points and one first place nod while the University of Southern Indiana (19-8, 12-6 GLVC) is third with 87 points and the remaining first place endorsement. Lewis University (22-9, 12-6 GLVC) rounds out the upper half of the division, slotting fourth with 81 points.
 
UIS is sixth with 41 points, followed by McKendree University (11-15, 4-14 GLVC) in seventh (35 points) and Saint Joseph's College (6-22, 3-15 GLVC) in eighth (33 points).
 
In the West Division, defending GLVC Tournament Champion Drury University (21-9, 12-6 GLVC) ranks No. 1 with 115 points and 11 first place endorsements. One point is all that separates No. 2 from No. 3 with Truman State University (20-10, 11-7 GLVC) grabbing 92 points to snag second while Quincy University(13-16, 7-11 GLVC)  is third with 91 points. Both Truman State and Quincy collected two first place votes. The University of Missouri-Saint Louis (19-11, 10-8 GLVC) rounds out the upper half of the division, netting 82 points and the final first place vote.
 
Maryville University (12-17, 6-12 GLVC) is fifth with 70 points followed by William Jewell College (13-14, 9-9 GLVC) in sixth (45 points), Missouri University S&T (9-17, 2-16 GLVC) in seventh (38 points) and Rockhurst University (7-19, 3-15 GLVC) in eighth (35 points).

Milestone Maz: Senior guard Andy Mazurczak eclipsed the 1,000-point barrier for his career on Nov. 17 against Silver Lake College with a 20-point outburst against the Lakers. Point 1,000 came on a fast-break layup with 10:12 left in the second half. Mazurczak additionally surpassed Walter Greene (1978-1981) for fourth on the all-time assists list in the same game and currently sits with 348 career assists. His performance helped the sport management major earn GLVC Player of the Week honors on Nov. 23.
 
Non-Conference Mastery: The Rangers have dominated non-conference play over the last four seasons, owning a 31-7 record in regular season non-league clashes. UW-Parkside wrapped up last season with an 8-1 non-league mark while going 7-1 in both 2013-2014 and 2011-2012 while posting a 5-3 record in 2012-2013.
 
Home Cooking: UW-Parkside has won 24 consecutive GLVC games inside DeSimone Gymnasium. That stretch includes eight wins over nationally-ranked opponents and five wins over Top 10 teams. The Rangers have additionally won 28 of their last 30 games at home, including a stretch of 16 in a row.

20-Win Club: The Rangers eclipsed the 20-win barrier for the third consecutive season in 2014-2015, marking the first time since 1987 that the program has notched three consecutive 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 13th season as head coach and his 16th season overall at UW-Parkside in 2015-2016.

Reigel, the GLVC Coach of the Year in both 2013 and 2015, has guided the Rangers to three straight GLVC East Division crowns while also earning Jack Bennett Man of the Year Award and Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors in 2013. The Wisconsin native sits second on the all-time wins list with 175 wins and has guided the Rangers to four NCAA Tournament berths.

Returning to the sidelines will be associate coach Keven Bradley along with assistants Tom Reigel and Andy Fitzgerald.