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

Official 2015 GLVC Tournament Page
 
GLVC Tournament Bracket

SOMERS, Wis. (Mar. 4, 2015)-- The three-time Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division Champion University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad opens up postseason play this week, taking on Truman State University in the quarterfinals of the GLVC Tournament on Thursday in suburban Saint Louis.
 
The eighth-ranked and third-seeded Rangers and sixth-seeded Bulldogs hit the court inside Family Arena in Saint Charles, Missouri, at 8:30 p.m. for the fourth and final quarterfinal of the day. Live stats, video, and audio will be provided with Mark Albanese, Steve Kratochvil, and Jim Kramer on the audio feed available online and on local airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (25-2, 17-1 GLVC) capped off the regular season last Thursday, cutting down the nets inside DeSimone Gymnasium as GLVC East Division Champions for the third straight season after downing rival Lewis University 73-68 in front of a season-high 1,803 fans.
 
UW-Parkside led by as many as 13 points in the second half off a Jalen Currie three but the Flyers charged back, pulling within a point with 14:26 remaining. Andy Mazurczak drained a three while Jordan Mach hit back-to-back threes as the Rangers mounted a 9-0 run to increase the buffer back up to double digits. The Flyers pulled within four and had a shot to close within a possession with 53 seconds left but was unable to convert a pair of free throws while Mazurczak sunk five down the stretch, giving the Rangers their 13th straight home victory.
 
For the third straight contest Jimmy Gavin collected at least 20 points, pacing all scorers with 20 while Zygimantas Riauka tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Gavin leads the Rangers in scoring on the season, the All-GLVC First Team selection averages 17.0 points per game while averaging 3.1 assists per game and 3.9 rebounds per game. Fellow First Team All-GLVC pick Zygimantas Riauka heads into postseason play averaging 14.4 ppg and a team-best 8.0 rpg while collecting a team-best 40 blocks on the year. Second Team All-GLVC pick Andy Mazurczak is the third Ranger averaging in double figures, chipping in 11.9 ppg and 3.1 apg. Jordan Mach contributes 9.3 ppg, hitting a team-best 66 threes on the season while Mohamed Mohamed is the leading scorer off the bench, averaging 6.8 ppg.
 
UW-Parkside ranks 10th nationally and leads the GLVC in scoring defense (out of 250 teams ranked), allowing just 62.4 points per game while sitting 15th in Division II and third in the conference in scoring margin (+13.7).
 
Mar. 5 vs. Truman State University at Family Arena (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Bulldogs have battled just three times on the hardwood with UW-Parkside winning two of the three encounters. The Rangers dominated Truman 78-57 last season before opening the GLVC slate this season on Jan. 2 with a 77-69 victory in Kirksville, Missouri. Five Rangers ended the night in double figures including Zygimantas Riauka who netted 17 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Truman State's lone victory against Parkside came all the way back on Jan. 26, 1991 when Truman (then known as Northeast Missouri State University) drubbed the Rangers 83-58 in Kirksville.
 
About the Bulldogs: Truman State (20-9, 11-7 GLVC) heads into Thursday having won three of its last four, including back-to-back wins over Quincy University. The Bulldogs capped off the regular season with a 103-85 win over the Hawks on Feb. 26 in Quincy, Illinois before replicating the feat just three days later in Kirksville, pounding QU 84-64 in the opening round of the GLVC Tournament.
 
In the second encounter, the visiting Hawks owned a 37-34 edge at the halftime break but the Bulldogs exploded for 50 points in the second half to secure the blowout win as Reed Mells tallied all 16 of his points in the second half.
 
Seth Jackson leads the Bulldogs and the GLVC in scoring, netting 22.3 points per game while also grabbing a team-leading 4.7 rebounds per contest. Mells contributes 13.8 ppg and 3.9 assists per game while Isaac Gardner is the leading producer off the bench, averaging 7.9 ppg while four more Bulldogs average at least 7.0 ppg.
 
Truman owns one of the more high-octane offenses in the GLVC, ranking second in the conference in scoring at 82.7 points per game. The Bulldogs lead the league in three-pointers made (9.66 per game), turnover margin (+5.0), and assist to turnover ratio (1.54) while slotting second in the league in steals (9.24 per game) and three-point field goal percentage (39.4 percent).
 
Ticket Info: All-Tournament passes, which are good for all seven sessions, will be $38. A single-session ticket will be $18 for adults and seniors, and $11 for students with a valid ID. Children ages 6 and under are free.
 
Rest of the Tournament: The winner of Thursday's Parkside-Truman game will face the winner of the 6 p.m. game that features second-seeded Drury University and seventh-seeded University of Missouri-Saint Louis. On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Bellarmine University clashes with eighth-seeded Maryville University at 12 p.m. while fourth-seeded University of Indianapolis and fifth-seeded Lewis University battle at 2:30 p.m.
 
The GLVC semifinal round begins on Saturday at 12 p.m. with semifinal number two getting underway at 2:30 p.m. Semifinal winners will meet in the championship game slated for Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Tournament Rewind: This is UW-Parkside's third straight appearance in the GLVC Tournament and its 10th overall appearance at the event. The Rangers own a 4-9 record in their previous appearances, advancing to the Tournament Semifinals in both 2013 and 2014.
 
The Rangers downed the University of Missouri-Saint Louis 79-70 last season in the quarterfinals before falling 90-78 to Bellarmine University the next day in the GLVC semifinals.
 
NABC Poll: The National Association of Basketball Coaches released its 14th installment of the NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll on Mar. 3 with three GLVC squads appearing in the rankings. UW-Parkside appears in the poll for the eighth consecutive week, remaining eighth in the nation, the program's highest ranking ever. Bellarmine University remains second in the poll while the University of Indianapolis climbs up three spots to 13th.
 
Milestone 25: The Rangers' 73-68 win over Lewis University on Feb. 26 not only clinched a share of the program's third straight GLVC East Division crown but also established a new program record for wins in a season.  Parkside's 25 victories, surpasses the previous record of 24 wins set during both the 1974-1975 and 1975-1976 campaigns. The Rangers advanced to the NAIA Elite Eight in 74-75 while advancing to the NAIA Sweet 16 the following season.

Dog Pound: The University of Indianapolis has been ranked No.1 twice in its history with both runs atop the NABC Poll ending in DeSimone Gymnasium. The Rangers dethroned the No. 1 Greyhounds 63-45 on Feb. 1, 1997 while repeating the feat nearly 18 years later, downing No. 1 UIndy 72-68 on Jan. 29, 2015.

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.
 
Fantastic Four: Through 27 games, the Rangers have utilized just two different starting lineups with four student-athletes starting every game this season. Jimmy Gavin, Andy Mazurczak, Jordan Mach, and Jalen Curie have all started every game this season with Zygimantas Riauka starting in 25 of the 27 games this year.
 
Record Book Watch: Seniors Jordan Mach and Zygimantas Riauka continue to climb up the charts in several career statistical categories.
 
Mach surpassed Andy Schmidtmann (1986-1990) as the all-time leader in career three-pointers on Feb. 12 against Missouri University S&T and currently holds the No. 1 spot with 252 career threes. Riauka sits tied for fifth on the all-time list in rebounds (732) with Brad Ferstenou (2005-2008) and 11th all-time in scoring (1,403).
 
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).
 
All-GLVC: The Rangers had three student-athletes earn a spot on the All-GLVC squad announced on March 4. Zygimantas Riauka earned a spot on the All-Conference team for the third time in his career, landing a spot on the First Team for the second straight season while Jimmy Gavin collected his second All-GLVC honor, earning a spot on the First Team for the first time in his career. Andy Mazurczak was the third Ranger honored, as the 2013 GLVC Freshman of the Year landed Second Team All-GLVC honors. Riauka was additionally honored with a spot on the 10-player GLVC All-Defensive Team while Head Coach Luke Reigel nabbed Coach of the Year accolades for the second time in three seasons.
 
March Madness: The NCAA selection committee will unveil the 64-team NCAA Division II Tournament bracket on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. live on NCAA.com. The Rangers have qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times in program history (2014, 2013, 2007) and have made seven overall trips to a national tournament, qualifying for the NAIA National Tournament in 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978.

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 25 of their last 26 games at home, including 13 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 12th season as head coach and his 15th season overall at UW-Parkside in 2014-2015.

Reigel was named the 2015 GLVC Coach of the Year, earning the accolade for the second time in three seasons. Reigel was named the 2013 GLVC Coach of the Year after winning the East Division crown for the first time in program history and also landed the 2013 Jack Bennett Man of the Year Award and 2013 Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors. The Wisconsin native sits second on the all-time wins list with 170 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.