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

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 3, 2016)-- The 23rd-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad opens up the month of February at home, hosting a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division opponents. The Rangers face William Jewell College on Thursday before closing the homestand on Saturday against Rockhurst University.
 
Thursday's clash with William Jewell gets underway at 7:30 p.m. inside DeSimone Gymnasium with the Rangers and Hawks hitting the floor at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats, video, and audio of both games will be available at parksiderangers.com.
 
About the Rangers: 23rd-ranked UW-Parkside (16-3, 9-2 GLVC) split a pair of contests last week and head into Thursday's game having won 12 of the last 13 games. The Rangers had their 11-game win streak come to a halt on Jan. 28, stumbling 92-85 to McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, before closing the road swing with an 80-66 victory at the expense of the University of Illinois Springfield.
 
Against McKendree, the visiting Rangers owned a nine-point buffer early in the second half before getting outscored by a 36-16 margin over the next 11 minutes as the Bearcats seized an 11-point edge. UW-Parkside whittled the deficit to just a point with 4:32 left off a 12-2 run but the Bearcats did just enough to keep Parkside at bay over the final minutes to secure the seven-point win.
 
Two days later, the Rangers never trailed in a 14-point win over the host Prairie Stars. UW-Parkside owned a 13-point lead but UIS tied the game at 51 with 11:44 left in the game. The Rangers responded with an 18-3 spurt to reestablish a double-digit barrier. UIS closed the gap to six with 2:58 left but Parkside closed the contest on an 11-3 run to finish off Illinois Springfield.
 
Andy Mazurczak powered the Ranger offense, pouring on 19 points with Kendale McCullum adding 14 points and eight rebounds.
 
Mazurczak leads the Ranger scoring attack, averaging 17.9 points per game while securing 4.2 rebounds per game and 3.7 assists per game. The senior guard additionally hits 88.8 percent of his free throw attempts and is the only Ranger to start all 19 games this season. Alexander Brown adds 13.5 ppg while Kendale McCullum is the third Ranger averaging in double figures, adding 13.2 ppg and 5.2 rpg. McCullum ranks third in the GLVC in assists with a team-best 4.5 apg while ranking second in steals averaging 2.1 per game. Goran Zagorac leads the team on the glass with 7.6 rebounds per game while also owning a team-best 19 blocks.
 
UW-Parkside ranks second in the GLVC in scoring margin (+10.4) and field goal percentage (49.6 percent) while slotting third in the 16-team circuit in three-point field goal percentage (38.5 percent), rebounding defense (32.5 rpg), and rebounding margin (+4.0).
 
Feb. 4 vs. William Jewell College at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Cardinals have met just three times since William Jewell switched from NAIA to NCAA Division II five years ago with Parkside winning all three encounters. The Rangers downed Jewell 68-59 last season on Feb. 7, earning the program's third consecutive 20-win season.
 
About the Cardinals: William Jewell (7-12, 2-9 GLVC) tallied a pair of home wins against Missouri University S&T (93-89) on Jan. 21 and against Drury University (87-84) on Jan. 23 before suffering a pair of road defeats last week in Saint Louis. The Cardinals fell 68-51 to the University of Missouri-Saint Louis on Jan. 28 before getting edged 73-72 on Saturday against Maryville University.
 
Jewell struggled offensively against UMSL, shooting just 29 percent from the floor in the 17-point setback. Two days later the Cardinals shot an impressive 51.7 percent from the field but was sabotaged by a Max Mischkulnig three-point play with 10.4 seconds left as the host Saints came away with the one-point win. WJC owned a nine-point lead early in the second half but was unable to hang on despite a game-high 25 points from Patrick Whelan.
 
All seven of William Jewell's wins have come in Liberty, Missouri, with the Cardinals 0-6 on the road this season.
 
Darius Tomlin leads the Cardinals, averaging 16.1 points per game while Matt Lassen adds 13.2 ppg. Whelan contributes 12.8 ppg with Austin Regier owning a 9.6 ppg average along with a team-best 8.8 rebounds. 19 of WJC's 39 blocks have come from Jordan Tanner who also adds 7.6 ppg.
 
The Cardinals rank third in the GLVC in offensive rebounds (11.21) but sit last in the 16-team circuit in three-point defense (39.4 percent), assists (10.16), turnover margin (-2.79), and assist to turnover ratio (0.82).
 
Feb. 6 vs. Rockhurst University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: UW-Parkside and Rockhurst gave met nine times on the hardwood with the Rangers owning a 6-3 edge in the all-time series. Last season the Rangers steamrolled the Hawks 74-44 on Feb. 5 in Kansas City, outscoring the hosts by a 46-22 margin over the final 20 minutes of play.
 
About the Hawks: Rockhurst (10-9, 5-6 GLVC) heads into the week having dropped three of its last four games. The Hawks' lone victory during the last two weeks was a 72-59 decision on Jan. 28 against Maryville. Sandwiched around that result were setbacks to Drury (67-62) on Jan. 21, Missouri S&T (73-62) on Jan. 23, and UMSL (75-62) on Jan. 30.
 
Against Maryville, Adam Fatkin came off the bench and scored a season-high 18 points for the Hawks who led by three at the half before pulling away in the second stanza. Against UMSL, visiting Rockhurst led by six at the halftime intermission before falling victim to a 13-0 Triton run in the second half as the hosts pulled away for the win.
 
Dominique Washington leads the way for RU, averaging 19.1 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. Austin LeVan adds 12.2 ppg while Malachi Nix boasts a 11.9 ppg average with 5.9 assists per game and 1.6 steals per game. Alex Hagan is the leader on the glass, securing 7.0 rpg.
 
Rockhurst is one of the GLVC's top defensive teams, ranking second in both scoring defense (70.3 ppg) and three-point field goal defense (30.4 percent).
 
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.
 
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 third consecutive week, falling two spots to No. 23. The Rangers made their national poll debut this season at No. 24 on Jan. 19 before peaking at No. 21 last week. This marks the 27th 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 27 appearances in the poll, 24 have taken place over the past four seasons.
 
National Stat Rankings: UW-Parkside sits 15th nationally in field goal percentage (49.6 percent), 22nd in fewest fouls (325), and 35th in scoring margin (+10.4).
 
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 390 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 85-23 and stands just two 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 10 games back with 108 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 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.