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

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 10, 2016)-- The Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division leading and 17th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad hits the road this week and faces the best the West Division has to offer, facing West leaders Truman State University and Quincy University.
 
The Rangers and Bulldogs square off on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Kirksville, Missouri while the Rangers and Hawks battle on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Quincy, Illinois.
 
About the Rangers: 17th-ranked UW-Parkside (18-3, 11-2 GLVC) sits in a three-way tie atop the East with Bellarmine University and the University of Indianapolis after winning 14 of the last 15 games. The Rangers needed all 40 minutes to put away William Jewell College 73-69 on Feb. 4 before smashing Rockhurst University 93-57 on Saturday to cap off the two-game homestand inside DeSimone Gymnasium.
 
Against Jewell, neither team owned a lead of greater than seven points in a see-saw battle with four lead changes and six ties. The host Rangers owned a 32-31 lead at the halftime break only to see the Cardinals take their first lead of the night at 61-57 with 6:46 left. UW-Parkside took the lead for good off a Goran Zagorac layup with 3:28 left while Andy Mazurczak sealed the win after hitting a pair of free throws with nine seconds left.
 
Mazurczak led the Rangers with 20 points with Kendale McCullum adding 14 points and six assists.
 
Against Rockhurst, UW-Parkside stormed out to a 44-26 halftime lead and owned at least a 20-pont advantage for almost the entire second half for the blowout win to extend the squad's GLVC home winning streak to 31 games.
 
12 of the 13 Rangers to see action scored at least a point, including Mazurczak who netted his first double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds and tied Ranger great Stevie King (1974-1978) as the winningest player in program history with 87 career wins.
 
On the season, Mazurczak is the squad's top offensive threat, tallying 17.8 points per game and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 56.1 percent from the field. McCullum averages 13.1 ppg and a team-best 4.6 assists per game while Alexander Brown adds 12.9 ppg. McCullum additionally ranks second in the GLVC in steals, with 2.0 per game. Zagorac paces the team on the glass, securing 7.1 rebounds per game while combining with fellow big man Kyle Flanagan for 38 blocks this season.
 
As a team, Parkside ranks second in the GLVC in scoring defense (71.2 ppg), scoring margin (+11.3), and field goal percentage (49.5 percent) while sitting third in the 16-team circuit in three-point field goal percentage (38.8 percent) and rebounding margin (+4.0).
 
Feb. 11 vs. Truman State University at Pershing Arena (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The two teams have clashed four times on the hardwood with UW-Parkside prevailing in three of the four occasions. The Rangers downed Truman State 77-69 to open up the GLVC season last year on Jan. 2 in Kirksville, Missouri before collecting a 73-70 win over the Bulldogs on Mar. 5 in the GLVC Tournament Quarterfinals in Saint Charles, Missouri.
 
About the Bulldogs: Truman State (17-6, 9-4 GLVC) had its five game winning streak snapped on Saturday against the University of Indianapolis and now sits in a three-way tie with Quincy and Drury University for first place in the GLVC West Division.
 
Truman State extended its win streak to five games on Feb. 4, downing host Saint Joseph's College 98-94 before closing the four-game road tour with an 87-86 setback to UIndy on Saturday.
 
Against St. Joe's, the host Pumas nailed 13 threes in a game with four lead changes and eight ties. Connor Erickson, Andrew Vander Zwaag and Kyle Kanaskie proved to be a three-headed monster for the Bulldogs in the four-point win, collecting 21, 19, and 17 points, respectively.
 
Saturday's wild one-point defeat saw 21 lead changes and 17 ties. Visiting Truman led by one with 35 seconds left before Lucas Barker nailed a layup with 11 ticks left to give the lead back to the Greyhounds. TSU misfired on a layup with two seconds remaining as Indianapolis emerged victorious.
 
The Bulldogs have been a tough opponent to play in Kirksville, having won eight of their nine games inside Pershing Arena this season. The lone home defeat for Truman State was a 78-72 defeat to Rockhurst in the GLVC opener on Dec. 3.
 
Five Bulldogs average in double figures, led by Kanaskie who heads into Thursday's tilt with a 12.4 points per game average. Cory Myers adds 12.0 ppg, 4.2 rebounds per game, and team-high 3.8 assists per game and 42 steals. Erickson nets 11.8 ppg and 4.0 rpg while Vander Zwaag and Cole Myers chip in 11.2 and 10.3 ppg, respectively. Cory and Cole Myers both rank in the top five in the league in steals, both averaging 1.83 steals per game.
 
Truman leads the GLVC in steals (9.39 per game) and turnover margin (+5.57) while slotting second in the conference in assist to turnover ratio (1.36) and three-point field goals made (9.3). Conversely, Truman ranks last in the GLVC in both rebounding offense (32.3) and rebounding margin (-4.7).
 
Feb. 13 vs. Quincy University at Pepsi Arena (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Hawks have clashed 46 times on the hardwood with Quincy enjoying a 35-11 edge in the all-time series. Last season, UW-Parkside downed Quincy 77-64 on Jan. 4 inside Pepsi Arena behind an 18-point performance from Andy Mazurczak.
 
About the Hawks: Quincy (15-7, 9-4 GLVC) is among the three teams tied atop the West Division despite having split its last four games. The Hawks suffered a 98-66 blowout at the hands of UIndy on Feb. 4 before rebounding on Saturday with an 84-61 thrashing of Saint Joseph's. The split came just a week after falling 79-76 to fellow West leader Drury University on Jan. 28 and outlasting Missouri University S&T 109-96 on Jan. 30.
 
Against UIndy, the host Hounds mounted a 24-5 run over the final eight minutes of the opening half and never looked back in the 32-point blowout. UIndy shot a blazing 57.6 percent from the floor while visiting QU was able to muster just 35.8 percent shooting from the field.
 
The shoe was on the other foot on Saturday, staking a 47-27 lead at the halftime break in the 23-point win over Saint Joseph's. Four Hawks ended the afternoon in double figures, including Herm Senor II and Joseph Tagarelli who netted 20 and 18 points, respectively.
 
Tagarelli paces the Quincy offense, averaging 16.8 points per game while grabbing 6.2 rebounds per game. Evan McGaughey adds 13.3 ppg and a team-best 8.0 rpg with Senor II adding 11.1 ppg and a team-best 4.9 assists per game. Von Washington III nets 10.5 ppg with Godson Eneogwe adding 10.0 ppg.
 
Quincy boasts the most potent offense in the GLVC, averaging 86.5 points per game and a league-best 9.77 threes per game. QU sits second in the conference in blocks (4.36), assists (17.82), and steals (9.36) and third in both rebounding offense (37.3) and turnover margin (+2.18).
 
Piling on the Points: UW-Parkside's win over the University of Illinois Springfield on Jan. 30 marked the second time this season that every Ranger to see the floor scored at least a point. All nine Rangers scored at least five points while all 11 Rangers to see action on Nov. 17 against Silver Lake College were able to find the back of the net. The feat was nearly replicated on Feb. 6 with 12 of the 13 Rangers to see the court scoring in a blowout over Rockhurst University.
 
Let's go streaking: UW-Parkside's 11-game winning streak was the third longest active streak in Division II before getting snapped on Jan. 28 in Lebanon, Illinois. 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.
 
NABC Top 25 Rankings: UW-Parkside remains in the NABC Top 25 Poll for the fourth consecutive week, climbing six spots to No. 17, the team's highest ranking this season. The Rangers made their national poll debut this season at No. 24 on Jan. 19. This marks the 28th 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 28 appearances in the poll, 25 have taken place over the past four seasons.
 
National Stat Rankings: UW-Parkside sits 14th nationally in field goal percentage (49.5 percent) and 24th in Division II in both scoring margin (+11.3) and fewest fouls (357). Individually, Andy Mazurczak is 30th in the nation in free throw percentage (88.2 percent) while Kendale McCullum is 34th in steals per game (2.0).
 
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 394 career assists, good for third on the all-time charts. The performance propelled the sport management major to 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 87-23 and is tied with 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 eight games back with 110 appearances in a Parkside uniform. A total of 11 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 31 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 36 of their last 38 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.
 
20x4: UW-Parkside sits just two wins shy of netting four consecutive 20-win seasons, a feat never accomplished in the 47-year history of the program. The Rangers enjoyed three consecutive 20-win campaigns from 1974-75 to 1976-77 and again from 1984-85 to 1986-87 while netting five in six years from 1974-75 to 1979-80.

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 187 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.