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

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 24, 2016)-- The 18th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad still has a chance to snag a share of its fourth consecutive Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division title but needs some help heading into the final game of the regular season. The Rangers close the books on the 2015-2016 regular season on Thursday night, facing archrival Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.
 
The Rangers and Flyers hit the floor at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday with live stats, video, and audio available online at parksiderangers.com. UW-Parkside can claim a share of the league crown with a win and a Bellarmine University loss to the University of Southern Indiana.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (21-4, 14-3 GLVC) clinched an opening round bye for the GLVC Championships last week and Thursday's contest will solidify what seed the Rangers will be. A win and the Rangers will be the third seed while a loss could the Green and White as the fourth seed.
 
UW-Parkside steamrolled Saint Joseph's College 94-67 on Feb. 18 with all 13 Rangers to see the court scoring, including Kendale McCullum who poured on a game-high 22 points. Two days later Parkside saw its 32-game GLVC home winning streak come to a close, falling 85-74 to the University of Indianapolis in a volatile contest with 15 lead changes and six ties.
 
Against Saint Joe's, UW-Parkside rattled off 14 consecutive points in the opening half, owning a 52-31 halftime edge. The Rangers maintained a 19-point buffer the entire second stanza in the blowout victory.
 
Against UIndy it was the Jordan Loyd show as the Greyhound piled on a game-high 36 points to knock the Rangers' out of first place in the GLVC East Division. The host Rangers enjoyed a 38-35 lead at the intermission but Indianapolis owned a 50-36 edge in the second half, including an 18-5 run midway through the stanza to claim the lead for good.
 
Andy Mazurczak is the Rangers' leading scorer, averaging 18.4 points per game along with 4.6 rebounds per game and 3.6 assists per game. McCullum tallies 14.7 ppg while leading the team with 5.0 apg and 2.0 steals per game. Alexander Brown chips in 12.8 ppg while big man Kyle Flanagan adds 8.6 ppg and 5.0 rpg with a team-best 20 blocks while leading the GLVC in shooting, hitting 65.8 percent of his shots from the floor. Jake Verhagen is the Rangers' top threat from beyond the arc, sinking 44 threes on the season and shooting at a 43.1 percent clip from three-point land while Goran Zagorac tallies a team-leading 6.4 rpg.
 
As a team, UW-Parkside ranks second in the GLVC in both scoring margin (+10.4) and field goal percentage (50.1 percent) while checking in third in rebounding margin (+3.8). The Rangers additionally rank fourth among the 16-team circuit in scoring offense (84.4 ppg), field goal defense (43.9 percent), three-point field goal percentage (37.9 percent), and defensive rebounds (26.2).
 
Feb. 25 vs. Lewis University at Neil Carey Arena (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: UW-Parkside and Lewis have met on 66 occasions with the Flyers enjoying a 37-29 edge in the all-time series. The two sides last met on Jan. 18 inside DeSimone Gymnasium with the host Rangers prevailing 82-70. Jake Verhagen led the Rangers with 21 points as the team received 41 points from the bench.
 
About the Flyers: Lewis (20-7, 12-5 GLVC) heads into Thursday's tilt having won seven of its last eight games. The Flyers lone setback during that stretch was an 83-63 defeat to host Quincy University on Feb. 11. Since then, LU has rattled off wins at the expense of Truman State University (84-70) on Feb. 13, UIndy (101-89) on Feb. 18, and Saint Joseph's (87-62) on Saturday.
 
Against UIndy, Delany Blaylock, Kyle Nelson, and Max Strus combined for 71 points as the Flyers tallied triple digits for the first time since 2009. The host Flyers led by just one at the break before outscoring the Hounds 56-45 over the final 20 minutes. Blaylock highlighted ythe night with 27 points with Nelson and Strus both adding 22.
 
On Saturday, the Flyers clamped down defensively on the visiting Pumas, limiting St. Joe's to shooting just 31.3 percent (21-for-67) from the field en route to the 25-point blowout win.
 
Strus leads the Lewis scoring attack, ranking third in the league in scoring at 20.4 points per game while leading the conference in rebounding with 8.8 per game. Nelson averages 13.0 ppg and 6.4 rpg while Miles Simelton and Blaylock average 11.8 and 11.7 ppg, respectively.
 
Lewis paces the GLVC in rebounding offense (38.4), blocks (4.52), and defensive rebounds (28.48) and sits second in both field goal defense (41.8 percent) and rebounding margin (+5.2). LU additionally ranks fourth in field goal percentage (49.1 percent) while sitting last in the league in three-pointers made, hitting just 6.59 per game.
 
Triple Digits: UW-Parkside scored over 100 points against both Truman State University (102-96) on Feb. 11 and Quincy University (108-107) on Feb. 13, marking the first time since the 1987-1988 season the Rangers had back-to-back 100 point games. That season the Green and White piled on 100 points in three consecutive games, pouring it on in wins over Ferris State University (127-122) on Nov. 23, Northeastern Illinois University (109-77) on Nov. 25, and Valley City State University (100-68) on Nov. 27.

Overtime Success: Over the past four seasons UW-Parkside has won seven of its eight overtime contests. The Rangers are currently 3-0 in overtime in 2015-2016 while owning a 1-1 record in 2014-2015 and a 3-0 mark in 2012-2013. All 30 games during the 2013-2014 campaign were decided in regulation. Parkside's lone overtime stumble over the past four seasons was a 68-67 defeat to Drury University on Mar. 7 in the 2015 GLVC Tournament Semifinals in Saint Charles, Missouri.

Piling on the Points: UW-Parkside's win over Saint Joseph's College on Feb. 18 marked the third time this season that every Ranger to see the floor scored at least a point. All 13 UW-Parkside got in on the action against SJC. The feat also occurred on Jan. 30 against the University of Illinois Springfield with all nine seeing action scoring at least five points in addition to Nov. 17 against Silver Lake College where all 11 Rangers found the back of the net.

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 sixth consecutive week, falling four spots to 18th. The Rangers made their national poll debut this season at No. 24 on Jan. 19, before reaching its highest ranking at 14th last week. This marks the 30th 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 30 appearances in the poll, 27 have taken place over the past four seasons.

National Stat Rankings: UW-Parkside sits 11th nationally in field goal percentage (50.1 percent), 14th in won-lost percentage (84.0 percent), 24th in fewest fouls (429) and 27th in scoring margin (+10.4). Individually, Kendale McCullum checks in 38th nationally in steals per game (1.96) and 39th in assists per game (5.0).

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 410 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. Mazurczak completed the hat-trick on Feb. 15, earning his third GLVC Player of the Week honor after averaging 33.0 points per game in a pair of overtime wins.

Mr. Ranger: Andy Mazurzcak made history in the team's 102-96 overtime win over Truman State University on Feb. 11, surpassing Stevie King (1974-1978) as the winningest player in program history. Mazurczak currently owns a 90-24 record in a Parkside uniform while 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 four games back with 114 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.

Award Watch: Andy Mazurczak earned a spot on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District team on Feb. 11, one of five student-athletes to be honored in District 4. Mazurczak is additionally one of 50 players on the Bevo Francis Award watch list. The Bevo Francis Award is given annually to the top overall player in small college basketball.

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 37 of its last 40 home games inside DeSimone Gymnasium, an impressive run that includes eight wins over nationally-ranked opponents and five wins over Top 10 teams. The Rangers had a stretch of 16 straight home victories while accruing 32 consecutive GLVC home wins. The squad's GLVC home winning streak lasted 1,125 days, beginning after falling 77-74 to Lewis University on Jan. 21, 2013 and coming to a close in a Feb. 20, 2016 in a 85-74 defeat to the University of Indianapolis.

20-Win Club: The Rangers eclipsed the 20-win barrier for the fourth consecutive season with its overtime triumph over Quincy University on Feb. 13, marking the first time in the 47-year history of the program the Rangers have enjoyed four straight 20-win campaigns. 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 192 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.
 
Reigel and Reigel: The father-son tandem of Assistant Coach Tom Reigel and Head Coach Luke Reigel have racked up a lot of wins together on the hardwood in Wisconsin, amassing 258 victories between their shared time at both UW-Parkside and Wilmot High School. The two first occupied the same bench at Wilmot High School and with Tom as the head coach and Luke as a player, the duo racked up 74 wins, including an undefeated season and a WIAA Division 2 state title in 1991. In 2004, the duo reunited with Head Coach Luke Reigel bringing on Tom as an assistant for the Rangers. Since then, the two have collected 184 wins for the Green and White, including four trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
As a high school coach from 1973-2004 at Wilmot and then Waukesha South High School, Tom tallied 405 career wins and on February 19, 2016, Wilmot officially rechristened its basketball facility as Tom Reigel Court in honor of longtime coach.