SOMERS, Wis. -- Junior
Kendale McCullum recorded his second consecutive double-double with 18 points and 10 assists and five Wisconsin-Parkside players scored in double figures as the Rangers defeated Saint Xavier 98-68 on Tuesday in DeSimone Gymnasium to extend their winning streak to seven straight games.
McCullum, who had 15 points and 11 assists in the Rangers victory over Saint Joseph's on Saturday, was 7-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free throw line to lead the Rangers. He also added seven rebounds and had only one turnover in 29 minutes of play. In the last two games, McCullum has 21 assists and just two turnovers in 57 minutes of play.
Alexander Brown finished with 14 points and
Jake Verhagen added 13 points for the Rangers.
Goran Zagorac had 12 points and tied for the team lead with eight rebounds and
Adam Bonk was a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, including making all three of his three-pointers, and finished with 11 points.
Wisconsin-Parkside (7-1) shot 58.0 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from the three-point line for the game, while limiting the Cougars to just 40.6 percent shooting. The Rangers have shot 61.6 percent from the field in the last two games combined and have made 19 of their last 30 three-point attempts.
Saint Xavier, which played the game as an exhibition, was led by Niko Cahue who had 19 points off the bench. Quinn Niego finished with 13 points and Kyle Huppe had 10 points.
Saint Xavier held a 5-4 lead at the 18:18 mark of the first period, but Wisconsin-Parkside responded with two three-pointers from Verhagen and a three from Brown to take the lead for good at 13-5 with 16:38 remaining in the opening half.
After a three-pointer by Kyle Huppe cut the Ranger lead to 19-13 with 13:55 to play, Wisconsin-Parkside responded with a 13-4 run to up the lead to 32-17 at the 8:46 mark of the first.
McCullum had four points and Bonk added a three-pointer during the run to spark the Rangers.
The Rangers took their largest lead of the first half at the intermission when Verhagen drained a three-pointer to increase the UW-Parkside lead to 48-30 with seven seconds remaining in the half.
The Rangers, who shot 58.8 percent in the second half, never led by less than 15 points during the second half.
Wisconsin-Parkside returns to action on Saturday (Dec. 10) when it hosts Robert Morris Peoria at 3 p.m. in DeSimone Gymnasium.