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

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 20, 2016)-- The 24th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball team squares off against a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division juggernauts this weekend, welcoming sixth-ranked Bellarmine University and the University of Southern Indiana to DeSimone Gymnasium to cap off a grueling stretch of five games in ten days.
 
The nationally-ranked Rangers and nationally-ranked Knights hit the floor at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night while Parkside and Southern Indiana clash at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats, video, and audio will be available for both contests.
 
About the Rangers: No. 24 UW-Parkside (13-2, 6-1 GLVC) extended its win streak to nine games on Monday night, dispensing of nemesis Lewis University 82-70 in a back and forth battle featuring 11 lead changes and eight ties.
 
The host Rangers trailed 49-47 with 14:23 left in the game before mounting a 17-2 run to secure the lead for good. Jake Verhagen ignited the offensive spurt, scoring a layup to tie the game while hitting three three-pointers during the five minute scoring bonanza. Lewis closed the gap to just seven with just over five minutes left but another Ranger run extended the buffer back up to double digits where it remained the rest of the way.
 
Verhagen and Kyle Flanagan came off the bench and stole the show, scoring career-highs of 21 and 18 points, respectively as half of the Rangers scoring production came from non-starters. UW-Parkside was a perfect 18-for-18 at the free throw line while ending the contest shooting at a 50.9 percent clip.
 
The Lewis victory came on the heels of a pair of road wins as Parkside left Saint Louis last weekend with a pair of wins. The Rangers erased an 11-point deficit to down the University of Missouri-Saint Louis 70-66 on Jan. 14 while scoring 14 consecutive points to escape with a 90-81 victory over Maryville University on Saturday.
 
Three Rangers average in double figures this season with Andy Mazurczak leading the way with a 17.7 points per game average. The senior guard additionally has a team-high 57 assists and is the lone Ranger to start all 15 games this season. Alexander Brown adds 14.1 ppg with 25 threes while Kendale McCullum adds 12.9 ppg along with 5.1 rebounds per game and a team-high 33 steals. Kyle Flanagan chips in 8.2 ppg and 5.0 rpg while fellow big man Goran Zagorac owns a team-best 7.8 rpg with 16 blocks.
 
UW-Parkside sits second in the GLVC in both scoring defense (70.8 ppg) and scoring margin (+12.3) while slotting third in the league in three-point field goal percentage (39.5 percent). The Rangers additionally sit fourth in several statistical categories, including scoring offense (83.1 ppg), field goal percentage (49.5 percent), three-point field goal defense (32.3 percent), rebounding defense (32.7 rpg), rebounding margin (+3.6), blocks (2.8 per game).
 
Jan. 21 vs. Bellarmine University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: UW-Parkside and Bellarmine have met on 35 occasions with the Knights holding a commanding 27-8 edge in the all-time series. The two clubs last tangoed on Jan. 24, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky with visiting Parkside suffering its lone blemish of the GLVC slate, falling 75-52 to snap a 12-game win streak.
 
About the Knights: No. 6 Bellarmine (14-2, 7-0 GLVC) heads to Wisconsin riding an 11-game winning streak, having last tasted defeat the weekend of Thanksgiving. BU opened the season with three straight wins before suffering back-to-back defeats to the University of Findlay (70-69) on Nov. 24 and then No. 11 Midwestern State University (77-71) on Nov. 27. The Knights regrouped with an 84-66 thrashing of Ohio Valley University on Nov. 28 and haven't looked back, rolling through seven GLVC squads and four non-league foes, including a 98-84 decision over then No. 11 Lincoln Memorial University on Jan. 2.
 
Nine of Bellarmine's 11 wins during its recent run have been by 10 or more points with the two exceptions being a close shave against Rockhurst University (72-65) on Jan. 9 and Quincy University (81-79) on Saturday. The Knights capped off a three-game homestand on Monday night, thrashing Southern Indiana 80-65.
 
The Knights currently lead the GLVC in scoring defense, yielding a paltry 66.8 ppg while also pacing the 16-team circuit in scoring margin (+12.9), field goal percentage (51.3 percent), field goal percent defense (40.5 percent), and three-point field goal percentage (41.1 percent).
 
Rusty Troutman powers the BU offense, averaging 19.1 points per game while adding 5.3 rebounds per game. Yasin Kolo adds 12.7 ppg and a team-best 6.6 rpg while George Suggs drops 11.1 ppg.
 
11 of Bellarmine's 14 wins have come inside the friendly confines of Knights Hall while owning just a 3-2 mark in road and neutral site showdowns.
 
Jan. 23 vs. University of Southern Indiana at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Screaming Eagles have squared off 38 times on the court with Southern Indiana holding a 27-11 edge in the all-time series. Last season, UW-Parkside pummeled the host Eagles 73-50 inside the Physical Activities Center on Jan. 22 in Evansville, Indiana.
 
About the Screaming Eagles: Southern Indiana (13-4, 5-2 GLVC) won 12 of its opening 14 games of the season but has since dropped two of its last three, including an 80-65 setback at the hands of Bellarmine on Monday. USI had an eight-game win streak stymied on Jan. 14, falling 96-92 to visiting Quincy University on Jan. 14 after surrendering a 10-point advantage with less than eight minutes to play. USI rebounded with an 81-64 victory over Truman State University on Saturday before hitting the road and falling to BU on Monday.
 
Four Eagles average in double figures, led by Jeril Taylor who averages 17.9 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. Alex Stein adds 13.8 ppg while George Edwards contributes 12.9 ppg and 6.7 rpg. Bobo Drummond tallied 12.4 ppg along with a team-best 42 threes on the season.
 
Southern Indiana leads the conference in scoring offense, dropping 87.4 points per game, having eclipsed 100 points on three occasions. USI additionally leads the GLVC in rebounding offense (40.7 rpg), rebounding defense (31.2 rpg), and rebounding margin (+9.5) while ranking second in field goal percentage (49.8 percent).
 
13 Equals 3: After being held scoreless against UMSL, Jake Verhagen has been on fire, hitting 10 threes in a two-game span including some well-timed buckets to fuel big scoring runs for the Rangers. At Maryville, the Eastern Illinois University transfer had 19 points off the bench in just 21 minutes of play, hitting all five of his three-point attempts, including a clutch three with 12:02 to touch off a 14-0 run. On Monday, Verhagen tied the score with a layup with 13:59 left in the contest, sparking a 17-2 surge to cement the game for the Green and White. The junior canned three treys during the rally and finished the contest with a career-best 21 points.

NABC Top 25 Rankings: UW-Parkside climbed into the NABC Top 25 Poll for the first time this season on Tuesday, securing the No. 24 ranking in the week eight poll. It marks the 25th week the Rangers have appeared in the NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll in program history and the first time since ranking eighth in the final poll of the 2014-2015 season. Last season, Parkside made its Top 25 debut on Jan. 13 and remained in the rankings for the final nine polls of the year. Of UW-Parkside's 25 appearances in the poll, 22 have taken place over the past four seasons.
 
National Stat Rankings: UW-Parkside sits 20th nationally in field goal percentage (49.5 percent), 23rd in scoring margin (+12.3), 22nd in fewest fouls (256) and 27th in fewest turnovers (179). Individually, Kendale McCullum ranks 11th nationally in steals per game with 2.54.
 
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 377 career assists, good for third on the all-time charts. His performance helped the sport management major earn GLVC Player of the Week honors on Nov. 23 while earning the honor again on Jan. 11 after surpassing Marlon Grice (1998-2002) for third on the all-time assists list.
 
Non-Conference Mastery: The Rangers have dominated non-conference play over the last four seasons, owning a 34-7 record in regular season non-league clashes. UW-Parkside wrapped up this season with a 7-1 record during the non-conference slate. Last season the Rangers tallied an 8-1 non-league mark while going 7-1 in both 2013-2014 and 2011-2012 and posting a 5-3 record in 2012-2013.
 
Home Cooking: UW-Parkside has won 27 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 32 of their last 34 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 184 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.