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

Box Score

SAINT CHARLES, Mo. (Mar. 6, 2016)-- The 14th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad negated a 19-point deficit but a third win over Lewis University this season proved elusive, falling 80-71 to the Flyers on Sunday in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Championship game inside Family Arena.
 
The game appeared to be a blowout with the fifth-seeded Flyers (24-8) opening up a 19-point lead with 18:38 left in the contest before the Rangers (24-5) battled back. UW-Parkside scored 33 of the next 47 points, tying the game at 67 off a Kendale McCullum three-pointer. Lewis responded with six consecutive points and closed the contest on a 13-4 run to secure the league title and the conference's automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Division II Tournament. Max Strus provided the back breaker, hitting a long three as the shot clock expired with 39 ticks left to give LU the seven-point buffer.
 
The Flyers never trailed in the opening half, enjoying a 49-34 lead at the halftime intermission. The contest was tied at 14 with 11:50 left off a Chavares Flanigan jumper but Lewis recorded 11 of the next 12 to stake its first double-digit advantage of the game at 25-15.
 
McCullum tallied a layup and a three to pull the Rangers within six with 7:07 left in the opening stanza but an 11-4 Flyer run put the Green and White in a 14-point hole. The Rangers whittled the lead down but a long three at the buzzer from Strus gave Lewis the 15-point halftime edge.
 
Andy Mazurczak tallied 22 points to pace the Rangers while securing five rebounds while McCullum chipped in 15 points and six assists. Flanigan added 11 while Alexander Brown, Jake Verhagen, and Goran Zagorac all chipped in seven. Zagorac additionally led the team on the glass with eight boards.
 
Kyle Nelson led all scorers with 23 points, also securing 10 rebounds with Strus chipping in 17. Delaney Blaylock and Capel Henshaw each had 11 with Miles Simelton adding 10.
 
UW-Parkside owned a 16-6 edge in points off turnovers but was unable to bottle up the Flyer offense that hit 83.3 percent (five-for-six) of its chances from beyond the arc in the first half and 58.3 percent (seven-for-12) for the game.
 
The game was a milestone for Andy Mazurczak who suited up in his 118h career game in the Green and White, tying Joe Foots (1975-1979) for the most games played in program history. Mazurczak and McCullum were additionally honored at the conclusion of the event, earning a spot on the five-player All-Tournament Team.
 
UW-Parkside's road to the championship game began on Friday with a 77-62 victory over sixth-seeded Truman State University before overcoming a 10-point deficit to collect the 93-86 win over seventh-seeded Quincy University last night to advance to the finals for the first time in school history.
 
The Rangers learn their NCAA Division II Tournament fate tonight at 9:30 p.m. The Division II selection show will be broadcast live on NCAA.com.