PARKSIDE 71, NORTHERN MICHIGAN 65 (OT)
Parkside men's basketball trailed by five with under 2:00-minutes to play in regulation, but that didn't stop the Rangers (10-8, 8-4 GLIAC), who came back and earned a tough overtime win against Northern Michigan (11-8, 6-6 GLIAC) at DeSimone Gymnasium. In overtime, the Rangers opened on a 6-0 run and iced the game away at the free-throw line, where they scored their final nine points and went 13-of-16 in overtime alone.
Parkside, who has won five of its last six games, improved to 8-1 at home this season, and has now won seven straight games in front of the home crowd. With the win, the Rangers stayed tied with Ferris State in the GLIAC standings for third place as each team is now 8-4, but the Bulldogs hold the tiebreaker. Parkside has a two-game lead on Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State and Northwood with eight conference games left.
 
HEAR FROM COACH REIGEL
"I thought we were fantastic defensively, we gave up some 3's early, but in the second half they had to earn everything and force tough shots," said head coach Luke Reigel. "I thought Joey St. Pierre gave us a shot in the arm in the second half and guys chipped in from all over. It's not going to be the same guys every night, especially when our guys have targets on them like Adam Bonk and Brandon Trimble."
 
DOWN THE STRETCH
With 2:11 left in regulation, the Rangers trailed 56-51 after a pair of NMU free throws. Reigel drew up a perfect inbounds play, which ended with a Bonk 3-pointer, making it 56-54. After a stop on defense, Chavares Flanigan converted a jumper in the lane to tie it up with 1:13 to play. Both teams traded misses, and NMU's Naba Echols missed a contested driving layup with :02-seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime.
In OT, free throws were huge, as the Rangers opened 4-for-4 at the line thanks to Bonk and Ramar Evans, followed by a Brandon Hau mid-range jumper that put Parkside up 62-56. The Wildcats cut it to three points twice in the closing minutes, but the Rangers were clutch at the free-throw line, going 13-for-16 from the charity stripe in overtime.
 
STATWORTHY
Five Rangers finished with nine or more points, as St. Pierre led the way with 13 points and had eight rebounds and three blocks. Bonk and Jonathan Morrobel each had 11, with Morrobel hitting three 3-pointers off the bench. Flanigan had nine points and five assists while Evans had nine points and seven rebounds. As a team, Parkside shot 44.7-percent, went +8 in rebounding and held the Wildcats to 35.9-percent.
NMU saw Isaiah Johnson score 21 points and Naba Echols finish with 18.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Rangers will host Michigan Tech on Saturday, Feb. 2 for Pink Out game. The first 400 fans in attendance, beginning at noon, will receive a free pink t-shirt courtesy of Aurora Health Care. The women tip off at 1 p.m., followed by the men around 3 p.m. Parkside beat the Huskies 70-53 on the road earlier this season.