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

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 6, 2016)-- The three-time defending Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division Champion University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad resumes conference play this week, hosting a pair of West Division rivals inside DeSimone Gymnasium. The Rangers face Missouri University S&T on Thursday night before closing the homestand on national television against Drury University on Saturday evening.
 
Interdivisional play begins when the Rangers and Miners square off on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. with UW-Parkside and Drury hitting the floor at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats, video, and audio will be available for both games.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (8-2, 1-1 GLVC) resumes conference play riding a four-game win streak, including a 92-74 blowout win of Indiana University-Northwest on Saturday. The Rangers' recent run of success began on the road, manhandling GLVC East rival Saint Joseph's College 96-60 back on Dec. 5. UW-Parkside escaped Fayette, Iowa with a 74-71 win on Dec. 15 before closing out the calendar year on Dec. 19 with a 70-64 win at the expense of Michigan Tech University.
 
The Rangers had a sluggish start against IU-Northwest on Saturday with the lead changing hands twice along with six ties before the hosts pulled away with five minutes left before halftime. Parkside enjoyed a 45-35 lead at the break and led the entire second half, owning at least a 10-point barrier the final 13 minutes of the game.
 
Jalen Currie led the offensive efforts, scoring 16 points while Andy Mazurczak and Jake Verhagen added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Goran Zagorac tallied his third double-double of the year with 11 points and 16 boards with Alexander Brown adding 10 points.
 
On the season, four Rangers average in double-digit scoring with Mazurczak leading the way with at a 16.6 points per game clip. The senior guard additionally leads the team in assists, averaging 4.2 per game while sinking 89.5 percent of his shots from the free throw line. Brown adds 13.9 ppg while sinking a team-high 19 threes on the season while Kendale McCullum notches 12.9 ppg, 4.1 rebounds per game and leads the GLVC in steals with 2.5 per game. Currie is the fourth Ranger in double figures, chipping in 10.0 ppg. Zagorac adds 8.7 ppg while leading the team on the glass with an 8.4 rpg average and sits second in the league in blocks with 1.6 per game.
 
Parkside continues to thrive from beyond the arc, leading the GLVC and sitting fifth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (43.5 percent) while slotting second in the conference in both scoring margin (+12.3) and field goal percentage (40.6 percent).
 
Jan. 7 vs. Missouri University S&T at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Miners have battled 11 times on the court with UW-Parkside owning a 7-4 edge in the all-time series. Parkside won last season's encounter 94-70 on Feb. 12 inside DeSimone Gymnasium. In that game, Jalen Currie scored 14 points as the Rangers led by at least 15 points the entire second half.
 
About the Miners: Missouri S&T (7-5, 3-0 GLVC) heads into Thursday night riding a six-game win streak, finishing the month of December undefeated. The Miners got off to a sluggish start to the season, winning just one of their first six games, including a pair of setbacks at the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio, Texas before catching fire with three wins over GLVC squads.
 
S&T began conference action on Dec. 3 with an 83-73 win over Maryville University before slipping past host University of Missouri-Saint Louis 85-81 two days later. The Miners piled on 104 points in a 13-point win over Division III Blackburn College on Dec. 8 before netting a 74-65 win over GLVC travel partner Drury on Dec. 12. Missouri S&T again reached triple figures in a 102-97 win over William Woods University on Dec. 20 before wrapping up the month on New Year's Eve with a 97-70 shellacking of Division III Principia College.
 
Six of S&T's seven victories have come inside the Gale Bullman Multi-Purpose Building in Rolla, Missouri while owning just a 1-4 mark in neutral site and road clashes.
 
B.J. McLaughlin leads the Miner offense, averaging 15.6 points per game while also grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game. Zach Ellis is a spark off the bench, averaging 11.7 ppg while Desmond Buerge contributes 9.8 ppg. Rokas Paulauskas is the team's leader on the glass, grabbing 8.2 rpg while adding 8.6 ppg on the offensive side of the court.
 
Missouri S&T leads the GLVC in offensive rebounds, securing 16.2 per game and ranks last (16th) in the conference in field goal percentage, making just 41.2 percent of its opportunities from the floor.
 
Jan. 9 vs. Drury University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: UW-Parkside and Drury have clashed 12 times on the hardwood with the Panthers owning a 9-3 edge in the series. The host Rangers won last year's meeting 64-53 on Feb. 14 for the team's 12th consecutive victory inside DeSimone Gymnasium but stumbled 68-67 in overtime in the rematch on Mar. 7 in the GLVC Tournament Semifinals.
 
About the Panthers: Drury (7-4, 2-1 GLVC) heads into Thursday's game against Lewis University riding a two-game winning streak. The Panthers fell 92-80 to Angelo State University on Dec. 18 to open the South Pointe Holiday Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada, before closing the trip with a 68-67 nailbiting win over Tarleton State University the next day. Drury continued its winning ways on Jan. 2, crushing Central Christian College 72-43 behind a 19-point performance from Kameron Bundy.
 
Prior to the Las Vegas trip, the Panthers played three GLVC games against West Division foes, vanquishing UMSL (60-51) and Maryville (82-78) before stumbling 74-56 to travel partner Missouri S&T on Dec. 12.
 
Bundy powers the DU offense, ranking third in the GLVC averaging 19.5 points per game while Tevin Foster adds 14.3 ppg and a team-best 21 steals. Drew Moore is the team's leader on the boards, grabbing 5.3 rebounds per game.
 
Drury sits second in the GLVC in free throw percentage (76.5 percent), three-point field goal percentage (41.9 percent), and three-point field goal percentage defense (31.4 percent) but ranks in the league cellar in scoring offense (73.5 points per game), assists (12.1 assists per game) and assist to turnover ratio (0.76).
 
National Rankings: UW-Parkside ranks fifth in all of NCAA Division II in three-point field goal percentage, shooting at a 43.5 percent clip while ranking 20th in fewest fouls (174), and 22nd in fewest turnovers (118). Individually, Kendale McCullum is 13th in steals per game (2.5) while Andy Mazurczak is 35th in free throw percentage (89.5 percent).
 
National TV Exposure: The Rangers' doubleheader against GLVC rival Drury University on Saturday, Jan. 9 will be broadcast live nationwide on the American Sports Network and online through NCAA.com. To accommodate the national telecast, tipoff is getting pushed back to 7:05 p.m. Spectators in attendance will receive "White Out" T-shirts provided from Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Services at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare - All Saints, the official sports medicine provider of the UW-Parkside athletic department. Additionally, the first 100 fans will get a RangerBear bobblehead doll.
 
Shot for $1,000: UW-Parkside's Office of Residence Life will offer two students a chance to win a $1,000 dollar on-campus housing credit for the 2016 spring semester during halftime of the Rangers' national televised doubleheader on Saturday against Drury.
 
UW-Parkside students currently enrolled for the spring 2016 semester will be given tickets as they enter the games with two contestants drawn prior to halftime of the men's game. The two contestants will each have one opportunity to make a half-court shot for the $1,000 credit. Students who already receive either athletic-related housing aid or housing aid as a resident advisor along with current basketball student-athletes are ineligible for the contest, and no cash or alternative prizes will be awarded.
 
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 369 career assists, just six shy of Marlon Grice (1998-2002) for third on the all-time charts. 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 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 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 29 of their last 31 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 179 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.