Parkside 76, Grand Valley State 63
Behind Tray Croft's career-high 30 points, the Parkside men's basketball team took down Grand Valley State on the road Saturday afternoon. Croft, who scored 20 points in the second half, went 11-for-15 from the floor and 7-for-9 from beyond the arc.
 
With the win, the Rangers split the weekend series with the Lakers and moved to 3-3 on the season while GVSU fell to 4-2.
 
HEAR FROM COACH REIGEL
"It's amazing how much smarter you look as a coach when your team is making shots," head coach Luke Reigel said. "I thought our defensive effort was very solid all weekend so that is something we can build on. Offensively we are a work in progress. But it was nice to see Tray breakout and Colin played his best game of his short career as well."

GAME RECAP
After Grand Valley State hit the first basket of the game, Parkside hit the next two and never trailed again the rest of the game. A 3-pointer by freshman Josiah Palmer pushed the Rangers' lead to nine with 8:31 to play in the first half and Parkside ended the half on a 9-2 run to take a 35-24 lead into the break.
 
GVSU was able to get within six points at the 15:17 mark in the second half, but a big Croft triple stopped the Lakers' momentum. The Rangers continued to keep the foot on the gas and led by as many as 17 on multiple occasions late in the game, never letting the Lakers back into it.
 
STATWORTHY
Shooting drastically improved from Friday's loss, as the Rangers finished the game 27-of-53 from the floor and 14-of-27 from beyond the arc. It was the most made 3-pointers for the Rangers in a game since Jan. 6, 2018 against Missouri S&T.  
 
After Croft's big day, freshman Colin O'Rourke had a career-high 17 points and went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. He also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds. Sophomore Solomon Oraegbu finished with eight points while senior Ramar Evans had seven points and seven rebounds.
 
Preseason GLIAC Player of the Year Jake Van Tubbergen finished with 24 for the Lakers, who shot 45.6-percent from the floor.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Rangers will hit the road and face Purdue Northwest on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. They'll welcome in Saginaw Valley State on Jan. 29 and 30, with the Saturday game being a Marquee Matchup powered by Upload Partners.
 
GLIAC STANDINGS
Through three weekends of GLIAC play, the Rangers sit in a five-way tie for fifth place at 3-3. Michigan Tech (5-1) is alone in first place while Grand Valley State (4-2), Northwood (4-2) and Ashland (4-2) are all tied for second.