Parkside 68, Ashland 64
Freshman Colin O'Rourke had the best game of his young career as he led the hot-shooting Rangers to a 68-64 win over Ashland on the road Saturday afternoon. The Plainfield, Ill., native finished with a career-high 24 points and was perfect from beyond the arc, finishing 6-for-6. As a team, Parkside went 15-of-24 from 3-point range, their most made since Jan. 6, 2018 at Missouri S&T.
 
Senior Ramar Evans was clutch down the stretch, where he went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line and drew a charge in the final seconds of the game.
 
The Rangers, who are in third place in the GLIAC, improved to 7-4 this season and have won four of their last five games. They'll face the current No. 2 team in the GLIAC, Wayne State, next weekend.

HEAR FROM COACH REIGEL

"Our young guys gave us a huge spark tonight," head coach Luke Reigel said. "Josiah Palmer got us going at the end of the first half. Vinson Sigmon Jr. played well in the second half, and Colin clearly played the best game of his career. "These guys have had the typical ups and downs that young players tend to have but they keep working and that's the key to success. Ramar Evans made big plays on both ends when we needed them as well."

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Parkside trailed most of the first half, which was a very low scoring affair. The Rangers trailed by as many as nine points, but clawed back to a 25-23 deficit at the break. In the second half, the Eagles pushed it to a 9-point lead with 14:20 to play, but the Rangers followed that with a 20-4 run to take a 53-46 lead. The teams battled back-and-forth in the final minutes, as Ashland hit a big 3-pointer with :45-seconds left to tie it up at 64-64. Evans was fouled driving to the basket with :19-seconds left and sunk both free throws to help end the game.
 
STATWORTHY
After O'Rourke's 24 points, two Rangers finished in double-figures in Vinson Sigmon Jr. (15) and Evans (11), who also had a team-high six assists.
 
Parkside shot 20-for-41 from the floor while Ashland went 26-for-55 and hit 12 3-pointers. Parkside went -4 in rebounding and even in the turnover battle. Ashland did not attempt a free-throw in the game, while Parkside went 13-of-17.
 
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Parkside will welcome in Wayne State next weekend on Friday, Feb. 12 and Saturday, Feb. 13 for a pair of 3 p.m. games in De Simone Gymnasium.