KENOSHA, Wis. --- The Parkside men's basketball team improved to 5-0 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference (GLIAC) play on Thursday night, riding a career-high 36 points from redshirt sophomore guard
Rasheed Bello to an 81-72 win over the visiting Grand Valley State Lakers.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Bello had a career-high 36 points on 15-21 shooting. He knocked down five threes in the contest. He also recorded eight assists and six steals. 21 of his points came in the second half.
-
Colin O'Rourke was hot from deep, going a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc. The redshirt sophomore finished with 17 points on the night.
-
Jamir Simpson kept the final Ranger in double figures, finishing with 12 points. He also had four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
- Parkside shot a season-high 56.9% from the floor while knocking down ten threes in the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lakers grabbed the early momentum on Thursday night, getting two quick baskets to open the contest. Parkside quickly answered back, however, getting a three from O'Rourke off the wing to tie the game at nine with 16:16 to go in the first half. The two sides went back and forth throughout the quick physical tempo of the first half. The first 20 minutes featured nine lead changes and three ties.
The Lakers' largest lead of the night was six at 21-15, which came on the heels of an 8-0 run with 10:16 to go in the half. Parkside was able to rebound and force multiple GVSU turnovers late in the half which turned the momentum around. Parkside was able to close the with strong offensive showings by Bello, Simpson, and
Nick Brown. It was Brown that gave the lead back to Parkside when he finished off a second chance layup in the paint. Parkside held that two-point lead into the halftime break by a score of 33-31.
Bello had a game-high 15 points in the first half, going 6-8 from the floor while knocking down both of his three-point attempts. Simpson had eight first-half points for the Rangers. Ten different players scored in the first half for GVSU.
The pace picked up early in the second half, with both teams converting on the offensive end easily. Parkside was able to continue that rhythm while being opportunistic on the defensive end to extend their lead midway through the half. A
Sanmi Fajana dunk got the De Simone crowd rocking with 12:11 to go while giving the Rangers a 53-46 lead.
The Lakers continued to hang around, but a 10-2 Parkside run over two minutes of game time extended the Rangers' lead to double digits with 5:55 to go. O'Rourke capped off the run for Parkside with a three from the corner. Grand Valley State got as close as eight the rest of the way, but a late three by Bello and a dunk from Brown sealed the sixth straight GLIAC win for Parkside 81-72.
Bello had 21 second-half points and five assists. O'Rourke scored 11 of his 17 in the second half. He was a perfect 3-3 from deep over the last 20 minutes. Parkside never trailed in the second half.
UP NEXT
The Rangers will continue GLIAC play on Saturday afternoon when Davenport comes to De Simone Arena. Opening tip is set for 3:00pm. Links to coverage including the live stream through FloSports can be found a ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
