KENOSHA, Wis. --- Entering the final two games of the 2022-23 regular season the Parkside men's basketball program knew that they needed two wins to lock up the GLIAC regular season title. The Rangers took care of step one on Thursday night, downing Wayne State by a final score of 69-47.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Sanmi Fajana had a season-high 17 points on 7-9 shooting.
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Rasheed Bello had 16 points on the night, including 12 in the second half.
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Nick Brown was nearly perfect, going 4-5 from deep, while also grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.
- The Rangers now need just one win to earn the GLIAC regular season title and the number one seed in the GLIAC Tournament which begins on Wednesday night.
- With the win, the Rangers reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth time under head coach
Luke Reigel.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH LUKE REIGEL
"That was a character win for us tonight. The first 15 minutes were as ugly as they could be, but our kids hung tough. I am very proud of this group. They showed a lot of mental toughness tonight."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The offenses were sputtering early on both sides, with just two points being scored over the initial 4:41 of the contest. Wayne St. grabbed the momentum coming out of the first media timeout, expanding their lead to ten with 13:19 to go in the half. Parkside worked to cut into the deficit, but another run by the Warriors built out the lead to 26-12 with 4:54 to go in the half.
Parkside started to find its rhythm at the end of the half. A three-point play by
Jamir Simpson got the offense going. Simpson and Brown then each knocked down a pair of one-and-ones from the free-throw line to cut the deficit to single digits. Fajana then got in on the action as he and Brown each knocked down threes with just over a minute to go to pull the rangers within 28-25 at the half.
The Rangers tied the game on the first possession of the second half when Fajana knocked down his second three of the night. Just a short time later the Rangers took the lead for the first time on a Bello three. Wayne St. hung around, taking the lead back on a layup with 14:44 to go in the half, but the Rangers were able to turn up the heat down the stretch.
The game was tied at 41 with 12:27 to go, but the Rangers were able to close out their 20th win of the season by going on a 28-8 run over the final 12 minutes to pull out a 69-49 victory. Six different players scored during the run for Parkside, led by Fajana and Bello with seven a piece. The Warriors were just 2-13 from the field over the final 12 minutes and did not make a three.
With the win, the Rangers improve to 20-7 on the season and 13-4 in GLIAC play. Wayne St. falls to 8-16 overall and 6-12 in GLIAC play. Parkside will look to close out the regular season GLIAC championship on Saturday afternoon against Saginaw Valley State. Opening tip is set for 3:00pm, and links to coverage can be found at ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
