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

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 27, 2016)-- The 21st-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad squares off against a pair of foes from the Land of Lincoln this week, traveling south to face Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rivals McKendree University and the University of Illinois Springfield.
 
The Rangers clash with the Bearcats on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in Lebanon, Illinois before facing the Prairie Stars at 3 p.m. on Saturday to close the road swing. Live stats, video, and audio will be available for both games.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (15-2, 8-1 GLVC) tallied three wins last week, extending its win streak to 11 games and forcing a three-way tie atop the GLVC East Division standings. The Rangers opened their homestand with an 82-70 victory over Lewis University on Martin Luther King Day before downing then No. 6 Bellarmine University 85-82 in overtime on Thursday. The Green and White capped off its extended stay inside DeSimone Gymnasium on Saturday by slipping past the University of Southern Indiana, 70-67, for the program's 29th consecutive GLVC home win.
 
Bench production carried the Rangers against Lewis, getting career-high production from both Jake Verhagen (21 points) and Kyle Flanagan (18 points) as the hosts pulled away in the second half. Against Bellarmine, Andy Mazurczak went coast-to-coast with 4.6 seconds left, nailing a layup as the final buzzer sounded to force overtime. In overtime Mazurczak hit a three with 2:30 left to give the homestanding Rangers the lead for good for the three-point upset victory. Mazurczak poured on a game-high 26 points in a game with seven lead changes and 18 ties.
 
On Saturday, Mazurczak was up to the same tricks, scoring the final five points of the game for the Rangers, including a layup and a free throw with 2.7 seconds left to pull out the win. Southern Indiana enjoyed a nine-point advantage in the second half before the Rangers rallied in a wild affair with 20 lead changes and eight ties.
 
Mazurczak leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game while adding 3.7 assists per game. Alexander Brown adds 14.1 ppg while Kendale McCullum serves as the floor general, scoring 12.9 ppg while adding 5.0 rebounds per game and a team-high 4.7 assists per game. Flanagan adds 8.1 ppg off the bench with fellow big man Goran Zagorac adding a team-best 8.1 rpg with 17 blocks.
 
UW-Parkside ranks second in the GLVC in scoring margin (+11.2) while checking in third in scoring defense (71.2 ppg), field goal percentage (49.4 percent), three-point field goal percentage (40.1 percent) and rebounding margin (+3.9).
 
Jan. 28 vs. McKendree University at Statham Center (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers have never lost to the Bearcats, owning a 7-0 edge in the all-time series. UW-Parkside won both meetings last season, pummeling McKendree 90-63 on Jan. 17 inside DeSimone Gymnasium before cruising to an 80-64 win on Feb. 19 in Lebanon.
 
About the Bearcats: McKendree (9-8, 2-7 GLVC) returns home looking to snap a two-game slide. The Bearcats opened the week with a narrow 86-84 victory over travel partner Illinois Springfield before suffering setbacks to a pair of Hoosier State schools. The Bearcats fell 79-73 to Saint Joseph's College on Jan. 21 before faltering 78-75 to the University of Indianapolis two days later.
 
David Franklin and Michael Jackson both scored 21 points against UIS, claiming the road victory in a game with 13 lead changes and 15 ties. McKendree led by three before sinking a pair of free throws with six seconds left to lock up the game.
 
Against SJC, McKendree owned an eight-point lead but was unable to hold on as the host Pumas scored 16 of the game's final 24 points for the win. Saturday proved to be even more heartbreaking for the Bearcats, succumbing to a three with 1.3 seconds left to give the host Greyhounds the three-point victory. McKendree owned a large 43-28 lead at the break before getting outdueled 50-32 over the final 20 minutes.
 
Five Bearcats average in double figures, led by Franklin who ranks fourth in the GLVC with 19.1 points per game along with a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game and 3.3 assists per game. Brandon Book and Jackson add 13.6 and 13.3 ppg, respectively with Nate Michael adding 11.1 ppg and Darin Winkelman chipping in 11.0 ppg along with 5.8 rpg.
 
McKendree leads the GLVC in three-point field goal defense, limiting the opposition to shooting just 30.7 percent beyond the arc while ranking last in the 16-team circuit in rebounding defense (37.6) and steals (4.35 per game).
 
Jan. 30 vs. University of Illinois Springfield at TRAC (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: UW-Parkside and UIS have battled 11 times on the hardwood with the Rangers owning an 8-3 lead in the all-time series. Last season, the Rangers handled the Prairie Stars 69-47 on Jan. 15 inside DeSimone Gymnasium but needed overtime and a 40-point performance from Jimmy Gavin on Feb. 21 to escape Springfield with an 83-82 win.
 
About the Prairie Stars: Illinois Springfield (8-11, 2-7 GLVC) snapped a two-game slide on Saturday afternoon, piling on the points in a 106-92 shootout win over Saint Joseph's. UIS began last week with an 86-84 setback to travel partner McKendree on Jan. 18 before succumbing 103-77 to UIndy three days later.
 
The visiting Prairie Stars trailed by 29-points at the halftime break against UIndy and were unable to overcome the initial deficit, despite outscoring the Hounds over the final 20 minutes of play.
 
Two days later Jamall Millison scored 23 points and became the second UIS player to eclipse 1,000-points in his career as the Prairie Stars claimed the 14-point victory over host Saint Joe's.
 
Millison is Illinois Springfield's top offensive threat, averaging 14.2 points per game and hitting a team-best 35 threes. Davi Austin tallies 11.3 ppg and 4.1 assists per game while Richard Freeman tallies 9.0 ppg and a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game.
 
Let's go streaking: UW-Parkside's 11-game winning streak is currently the third longest active streak in Division II, behind Augustana University (17 wins) and Wheeling Jesuit University (13 wins). The Rangers are no stranger to extended winning streaks, stringing together runs of 12 in a row and 10 in a row during the record-setting 2014-2015 season and a streak of 10 during the 2013-2014 season. The longest winning streak in program history belongs to the legendary 1974-1975 team that racked up 16 consecutive wins in a season that saw the Rangers advance to the Elite Eight of the NAIA National Tournament.
 
GLVC Streak: UW-Parkside's 11-game win streak includes eight consecutive wins against GLVC opponents. The Rangers have a chance to match the program record for most consecutive conference wins this week with a pair of victories. The current record is held by the 2013-2014 team that won its first 10 games of the conference slate en route to a 15-3 GLVC record and a share of a second straight East Division crown.
 
NABC Top 25 Rankings: UW-Parkside continued to climb in the national rankings this week, rising three spots to No. 21. The Rangers made their national poll debut this season at No. 24 on Jan. 19. This marks the 26th week the Rangers have appeared in the NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll in program history. Last season, Parkside made its Top 25 debut on Jan. 13 and remained in the rankings for the final nine polls of the year, ending the season ranked eighth nationally. Of UW-Parkside's 26 appearances in the poll, 23 have taken place over the past four seasons.
 
National Stat Rankings: UW-Parkside sits 20th nationally in field goal percentage (49.4 percent) and 24th in both three-point field goal percentage (40.1 percent) and fewest fouls (287). Individually, Kendale McCullum is 12th in the nation in steals per game (2.33) while Andy Mazurczak is 27th in free throw percentage (88.3 percent).
 
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 383 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.
 
Mr. Ranger: Andy Mazurzcak is additionally creeping up on two more program marks. The senior has a career record of 84-22 and stands just three wins shy of tying Stevie King (1974-1978) for the winningest player in program history. King tallied an 87-37 mark with the Rangers during his four year stint with the Green and White. Mazurczak also has a chance to potentially catch Joe Foots (1975-1979) for the most games played in program history. Foots suited up for 118 games while Mazurczak is just 12 games back with 106 appearances in a Parkside uniform. A total of 10 Rangers have played in at least 110 games, the most recent being All-American Zygimantas Riauka who appeared in 112 games from 2011-2015.
 
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 29 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 34 of their last 36 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 186 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.