KENOSHA, Wis. --- The Parkside Rangers men's basketball team finished the regular season on a high note, defeating Saginaw Valley 73-65 on Saturday night to secure the 2022-23 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) regular season title. With the win, the Rangers clinch home-court advantage in the upcoming GLIAC tournament which begins Wednesday night.
 

REGULAR SEASON GLIAC CHAMPIONS #DenDefended pic.twitter.com/AE1ktc1CBP

— Parkside Men's Basketball (@UWPMBB) February 25, 2023

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-   The Rangers finish the regular season with a record of 21-7 overall and 14-4 in GLIAC play.
-   The GLIAC title is the first for the Rangers since the 2018-19 season.
-   Rasheed Bello had a game-high 23 points on 9-15 shooting.
-   Jamir Simpson had 17 points and seven rebounds.

Hear from head coach @LukeReigel following the Rangers GLIAC clinching win over Saginaw! pic.twitter.com/BdL4QEwtQW

— Parkside Men's Basketball (@UWPMBB) February 26, 2023

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half was closely fought, with the opening 20 minutes featuring 10 lead changes and four ties. The two sides started with a frantic offensive pace, with the Rangers taking an 11-7 lead on a Bello fast break layup.
 
The two teams continued the back-and-forth affair with neither team taking more than a five-point advantage. That advantage happened twice in the half, first when Simpson finished off a driving layup with 4:52 to go in the half. Saginaw was able to get a layup to go late to cut the Parkside advantage to 42-39 at the half. Bello had 15 first-half points on 6-9 shooting.

RASHEEEEEEEEEEED pic.twitter.com/w8CpqTXxJk

— Parkside Men's Basketball (@UWPMBB) February 25, 2023

 
The Rangers extended their lead back to five on the second half's opening possession when Josiah Palmer hit a pull-up jumper in the paint. However, the Cardinals stormed back with a 10-2 run to take a 48-46 lead over Parkside.
 
Parkside stayed the course and grabbed the lead for good with 7:53 to go when Nick Brown hit a layup. Parkside extended the lead to 63-57 with back-to-back baskets by Bello. The Rangers wouldn't trail again, as they were able to hit free throws down the stretch to finish off the 73-65 victory.

Brown finds Simpson for the bucket! Rangers up 6 with 3:30 to play!!! pic.twitter.com/eqtQbusIMm

— Parkside Men's Basketball (@UWPMBB) February 25, 2023

 
The Rangers will now have home-court advantage throughout the GLIAC Tournament which begins Wednesday night. Parkside will host the number eight seed Michigan Tech at 7:30pm inside DeSimone Arena. Tickets will go on sale Monday afternoon.