Parkside 89, Wayne State 69
Being short-handed on a Thursday night didn't affect the Parkside men's basketball team as they cruised to an 89-69 win over Wayne State at De Simone Arena. The Rangers improved to 8-8 overall and 5-4 in the GLIAC and have now won three straight.
 
Redshirt-senior Tray Croft led the way for Parkside with 25 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
 
HEAR FROM COACH REIGEL
"Very pleased with our performance tonight," head coach Luke Reigel said. "We only had eight guys but they really shared the ball well and worked hard as a group. I thought Tray played one of his best games as a Ranger. Not only from a statistical standpoint but from a leadership standpoint. It's good to get another home win and hopefully we will have enough healthy bodies for Saturday."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rangers never trailed in the ball game, and used an early 10-0 run to jump out to a 20-8 lead midway through the first half. Led by Croft's 20 points, Parkside kept the lead above double-digits for much of the first half, and went into the half with a 44-28 lead.
 
In the second half, the closest the Warriors got to within 12 points with 9:45 to play, but that was the closest they'd get. Vinson Sigmon Jr. had 11 points for Parkside in the second half, as the team shot 59.3% from the floor.
 
STATWORTHY
With just eight players active, six players played 25+ minutes in the game. Croft went for 25 points after going 11-for-15 from the floor and 2-of-4 from deep. O'Rourke finished with 19 points and six rebounds while Sigmon Jr. finished with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Freshman Rasheed Bello had nine points and three assists while Jacksun Hamilton finished with nine points and six rebounds. 
 
The Rangers finished shooting 56.9% from the floor and went 9-of-21 from deep. Parkside went -5 in rebounding and +4 in the turnover battle. WSU shot 44.6% from the floor and went 3-of-15 from deep.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Rangers will face Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 3 p.m. in De Simone Arena where they'll look to extend the winning streak to four.