LAKELAND, Fla. --- Hitting the road for the first time this season, the University of Wisconsin – Parkside Rangers men's basketball team came from behind on Friday night, getting a last second tip in from
Nick Brown to give Parkside the 72-70 win over the Saint Leo Lions.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Rasheed Bello led the offense with 22 points and three steals. Bello was 9-11 from the free-throw line.
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Colin O'Rourke was second on the team with 17 points on 6-9 shooting. He also had six rebounds.
- Brown and
Jamir Simpson both finished in double figures, with Brown chipping in eight rebounds.
Hear from Head Coach Luke Reigel
"It's cliché to say our kids never quit but they really didn't. Things did not look good but our guys just kept battling. To win against a good team, while not shooting it well says a lot about this group's toughness. We are going to enjoy this one tonight and then get ready for an outstanding Florida Southern team tomorrow."
Game Recap
Saint Leo outshot the Rangers on the day, with the Rangers shooting just 4-21 from behind the three-point line. Despite the issues behind the arc, Parkside was able to get to the free throw line, shooting 20-24 on the night.
The Lions grabbed the momentum early in the first half, building their lead out to nine with 13:09 to go. The lead continued to hold through the under-eight media timeout. Parkside was able to get on a run following a Saint Leo layup to pull even before the half.
Josiah Palmer started the run with a three off a Bello assist. Bello followed up by taking an O'Rourke steal and laying it In to get Parkside back within three. Bello continued by knocking down a pair of free throws and a pull-up jumper to give the Rangers the lead back. The two sides went back and forth over the last few minutes, with an O'Rourke free throw pulling the two teams even at 38.
Bello led Parkside with 14 points on 4-7 shooting in the first half. The Rangers shot 56 percent from the floor over the opening 20 minutes. The lead changed five times in the opening half and there were four ties.
Saint Leo came out firing in the second half, building up a 16-point lead over the first 11:11 of the half. Parkside then put together a near-flawless defensive stretch over the final 5:22 of the contest.
Trailing by 11, Simpson cut the Parkside deficit to single digits with 4:58 to go. The Rangers were able to keep the scoring going by getting to the free-throw line. Six straight from Parkside cut the Saint Leo lead to just three. Parkside then made the Lions lead just one on a driving layup by O'Rourke.
Parkside gained a one-point lead for a moment on a Bello putback layup, but a Saint Leo free throw tied the game with 35 seconds to go. From there the Rangers got a shot off that caromed off to Brown, who was able to tip in the game-winning shot with six seconds left.
The Rangers' 4-1 start is the best since the 2016-17 season when the team went 22-8. Parkside will look to continue the hot start to the season on Saturday afternoon against Florida Southern. Opening tip is set for 6:30pm (CST) from Lakeland. Links to live coverage can be found at ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
