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

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Feb. 21, 2015)-- A herculean effort from Jimmy Gavin proved to be just enough for the 12th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad on Saturday afternoon, slipping past Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rival University of Illinois Springfield 83-82 in overtime in a physical back and forth affair inside The Recreation & Athletic Center. Gavin netted a career-high 40 points while canning seven threes in a wild overtime victory featuring nine lead changes and six ties

The Rangers (24-2, 16-1 GLVC) led by as many as 15 points with 11:12 left in the game but the host Prairie Stars (10-15, 3-13 GLVC) stormed back tying the game and forcing a five minute extra session.

In overtime, host UIS netted the first two buckets but the Rangers battled back, with Kendale McCullum drilling a jumper and Andy Mazurczak hitting a pair of free throws to tie the game at 75 with 2:55 remaining. UIS briefly reclaimed the lead off a Mark Weems layup but Gavin answered with his seventh three of the contest to give Parkside a one-point buffer. Gavin extended the Ranger edge the following possession with a three the old fashioned way, converting a layup and sinking a free throw to give the visitors a four-point lead. The Prairie Stars scored the next five, grabbing a 82-81 lead with 39 ticks left but Mazurczak proved clutch down the stretch, putting the Rangers ahead for good after sinking two free throws with 24 ticks left.

It was a volatile opening half, with five lead changes and one tie. UW-Parkside led 21-20 with 6:42 left before mounting a 9-0 scoring surge to claim its first double-digit lead of the contest and enjoyed a 37-26 edge after 20 minutes of play.

A pair of Mazurczak free throws with 11:12 left in the game gave the Rangers a 15-point barrier but the pesky Priarie Stars nibbled away at the lead with a 13-2 run over the next three minutes to pull within four with eight minutes to play. UIS continued to eat away at the Ranger lead, tying the game at 64 with 5:14 left. Parkside bumped its lead back up to five with 1:36 left off a Gavin free throw but Illinois Springfield ended regulation with the final five points, including a three by Jamall Millison with 38 ticks left to force overtime with the score tied 71-71.

Gavin hit seven of his 13 three-pointer attempts and converted 11 free throws, ending the afternoon with 40 points in 41 minutes of action to carry the Rangers. Mazurczak chipped in 17 points, hitting all 10 of his free throws while McCullum netted 10 points off the bench. Goran Zagorac paced Parkside on the glass, securing 10 rebounds.

Millison led Illinois Springfield with 19 points while Mark Weems added 18 off the bench. Dylan Sparkman had 17 points while Kentrell King netted 17.

With the win, UW-Parkside established a new school record for GLVC wins in a season with 16, surpassing the previous record set last season of 15 while tying the program record for wins in a season with 24 set during the 1974-1975 and 1975-1976 campaigns.

The Rangers close out the regular season on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m., welcoming Lewis University to DeSimone Gymnasium.