PEORIA, Ill. --- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball program had its final tune-up for the 2022 season on Monday night, making the trip to Carver Arena to take on Division I Bradley University. The Rangers closed out the pre-season by falling to the Braves by a final score of 93-59.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Jamir Simpson led the team with 16 points on the night on 5-8 shooting. He also had a team-high eight rebounds.
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Colin O'Rourke was the other Ranger in double figures with 13 points.
- The Rangers shot 41.1 percent from the floor and 24 percent from three.
- 14 different players saw minutes for Parkside in the game.
Bradley scored the opening points of the game, but the Rangers were able to get on the board with an O'Rourke turnaround jumper. Parkside held tough through the opening portion of the first half. Back-to-back baskets by O'Rourke and Simpson cut the Bradley lead to just one with 15:44 remaining in the half.
The Braves answered with an 8-0 run, extending their lead to 22-13 just before the under 12 media timeout. Bradley built out the lead to 32-21 late in the first half, but the Rangers were able to go on a quick 5-0 run to cut the deficit to six. Simpson scored all five points of the run. He knocked down a three off a pass from
Nick Brown before knocking down a pair of bonus free throws. However, Bradley had the answer again, closing the half on a 13-2 run to take a 45-28 lead into the halftime break. Simpson led all scorers in the first half with 14 points on 4-6 shooting.
Parkside scored the opening basket of the second half, but could not gain any further momentum. Bradley was able to pull away in the second half, taking the exhibition by a final score of 93-59.
The Rangers now will get ready for the regular season opener this coming Friday at the Nexus Classic hosted inside De Simone Arena. The opening game of the tournament is against Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday evening at 7:00pm. Links to coverage can be found at parksiderangers.com/coverage. You can also keep up with the team on social media @UWPMBB.