PARKSIDE 60, HILLSDALE 51 (OT)
It took to overtime, but the Parkside men's basketball team won its home-opener against Hillsdale in day one of the Parkside Invitational, presented by HARIBO. The Rangers, who claimed their first win of the 2019-20 season, extended their home winning streak to 13 games at De Simone Gymnasium.
 
HEAR FROM COACH REIGEL
"Our toughness and togetherness took a step forward tonight," 17^th year head coach Luke Reigel said. "We kept battling for all of regulation and then finally played from the lead in overtime.  It was a good team win but we are going to have to bounce back quickly to beat Crookston."
 
REGULATION
The first half was a defensive battle between the squads, with the team's combining for just 20 points midway through the first half. The Chargers led by as many as nine in the first half, but a Brandon Hau 3-pointer with :26-seconds left made it a 23-17 halftime deficit for the Rangers.
 
In the second half, Parkside opened the half on a 9-2 run and grabbed a 27-25 lead with 15:56 to play. The Chargers grabbed the lead back, then extended it to a 40-33 lead with 5:44 to play. The Rangers made a comeback, using another Hau triple with 1:43 to play to tie it at 43-43, which was the score at the end of regulation.
 
OVERTIME
In OT, the duo of Joey St. Pierre and Tray Croft started a 7-0 run and the Rangers never looked back. Parkside iced the game away at the free-throw line, where they scored their final 10 points.
 
STATWORTHY
Hau finished with a double-double, going for 13 points and 12 rebounds while going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. Croft led all scorers with 15 points and added five assists while junior Ramar Evans had 14 points and six rebounds. St. Pierre has nine points and three blocks, making it the third straight game he's had three or more blocks.
 
The Rangers were cold shooting Friday night, finishing 19-of-57 (33%) from the floor, but also held the Chargers to 32.3% shooting defensively. Parkside won the rebounding battle 40-38 and finished with seven blocks.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
After Concordia-St. Paul and Hillsdale play the 1 p.m. consolation game, the Rangers will face Minnesota-Crookston for the Parkside Invitational presented by HARIBO Championship at 3 p.m.