KENOSHA, Wis. – A 12-day holiday hiatus is over, and GLIAC play is back in full swing as the Parkside men's basketball team opens the 2026 calendar with a New Year's Day matchup against Roosevelt before heading to Big Rapids for Ferris State. The Rangers (5-4, 0-2 GLIAC) will host the Lakers (1-8, 0-2 GLIAC) on Thursday, Jan. 1 at 3 p.m. CT inside De Simone Arena, then travel to Michigan to face the Bulldogs (3-5, 1-1 GLIAC) on Monday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. CT.
Parkside returns to action riding its best stretch of the season, having won two straight heading into the break to climb back over .500. The Rangers snapped a three-game skid on Tuesday, Dec. 16 with an 83-81 overtime statement win over GLVC foe UIndy after rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit. Parkside followed it with its most complete performance against a Division II opponent this season on Saturday, Dec. 20 in Romeoville, Ill., cruising past Lewis 73-54 in the program's second true road game of the year.
Senior Paxton Warden fueled the road win over the Flyers, finishing one point shy of a career-high with 25 points while knocking down five 3-pointers and going a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line. Parkside also got a dominant defensive week from senior Fawaz Surakat, who captured his second GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week award of the season. In the overtime win over UIndy, Surakat anchored the Rangers on the defensive end with six rebounds and three blocks, then followed it with another three-block performance at Lewis while grabbing a season-high 10 rebounds. Across the two games, he totaled six blocks and averaged eight rebounds per contest, consistently protecting the rim and limiting second-chance opportunities.
League play has been a gauntlet early. Parkside opened its GLIAC slate in early December with an 82-76 loss to Northern Michigan on Dec. 4, then fell to No. 14 Michigan Tech 69-54 on Dec. 6. The Rangers are one of three teams in the conference still searching for their first GLIAC win at 0-2, but the overall profile remains encouraging through nine games. Parkside is averaging 75.6 points per game while allowing 70.3, shooting 43% from the field and 35% from three. The Rangers have been a difference-maker at the line, shooting 76% as a team while ranking among the league's best in free throws made per game at 18.7. Parkside has also protected the rim with 3.3 blocks per game and enters the new year on a two-game winning streak.
The Rangers' scoring punch starts with Warden, who is averaging 18.8 points per game to rank among the top scorers in the GLIAC. He is shooting 43% from the floor and 43% from three (18-for-42), and he has played 32.9 minutes per game. Redshirt junior Luka Mateski is right behind at 16.4 points per game, and he has been elite at the free-throw line, shooting 94% (67-for-71) while making more free throws than any player in the league. Junior Josiah Palmer provides a consistent third scoring option at 12.4 points per game and has been dangerous from deep, shooting 41% from three (25-for-61). Surakat has impacted winning in multiple ways, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 71% from the field and totaling 21 blocks on the season.
Thursday, Jan. 1
Parkside vs Roosevelt
3 p.m. CT | De Simone Arena | Kenosha, Wis.
Monday, Jan. 5
Parkside at Ferris State
6 p.m. CT | Jim Wink Arena | Big Rapids, Mich.
SCOUTING ROOSEVELT:
Roosevelt enters the new year at 1-8 overall and 0-2 in GLIAC play, but the Lakers head into the holiday return with a spark after earning their first win of the season in one of the most surprising results in Division II this year. On Friday, Dec. 19 in Fayette, Iowa, Roosevelt knocked off No. 24 Upper Iowa 83-80 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Jalen Windham, one of three Lakers in double figures. Roosevelt shot a blistering 57% from the field in the upset, snapping an eight-game skid to open the year.
The Lakers' conference start mirrors Parkside's, as they also fell to Michigan Tech (73-55) and Northern Michigan (85-64) in early December. Overall, Roosevelt is averaging 63.8 points per game while allowing 78.6, the largest scoring margin gap in the GLIAC at -14.8. The Lakers are shooting 43% from the field and 34% from three, but have been hurt by opponents' efficiency (47% shooting against) and a significant rebounding deficit, averaging 26.9 rebounds per game while being out-rebounded by 12.9 per night.
Windham is the headliner and the lone Laker averaging double figures at 17.1 points per game while playing 35.6 minutes per contest. Roosevelt has added secondary scoring balance behind him with Mikey West at 11.4 points per game, Kaleim Taylor at 10.4, Dante Sawyer at 10.2, and Davon Smith-Johnson at 10.0, giving the Lakers multiple options capable of catching fire on a given night. Smith-Johnson has also been their top rebounder at 5.4 per game.
Roosevelt was picked 11th in the GLIAC preseason coaches poll and entered the season with an almost entirely new roster for head coach Dee Brown's fourth year, with Griffin Yaklich the lone returner from last year's squad. Yaklich started all 29 games a season ago and was the Lakers' leading rebounder at 7.2 boards per game while also finishing second on the team in assists.
Parkside is 2-0 all-time against Roosevelt after the Lakers joined Division II and the GLIAC last season. The Rangers won the first meeting in Kenosha on Jan. 6, 75-70, behind 20 points from Palmer and 17 from Jack Rose, then completed the sweep in Chicago on Feb. 6, 70-61, with Palmer (14) and Rose (13) once again leading the way.
SCOUTING FERRIS STATE:
Ferris State enters the second leg of Parkside's New Year swing at 3-5 overall and 1-1 in GLIAC play under first-year interim head coach Alex Fodness. The Bulldogs were picked sixth in the GLIAC preseason coaches poll after coming off a 25-9 season and an NCAA Division II Tournament appearance a year ago. Ferris State opened conference action with a 73-68 road win at Purdue Northwest on Dec. 4, then fell 98-77 at Wayne State on Dec. 6.
The Bulldogs went into the break with a 75-70 loss to McKendree on Friday, Dec. 19, when a late rally came up short despite strong free-throw shooting. Statistically, Ferris State has been involved in high-scoring games all season, averaging 75.1 points per game while allowing 80.9. The Bulldogs are shooting 44% from the field and 31% from three, and they've been strong on the glass with 38.0 rebounds per contest (+2.0 margin). Ferris State has also protected the rim with 3.6 blocks per game, but turnovers have been a key pressure point, as the Bulldogs are committing 14.6 per game.
Offensively, Ferris State brings a balanced attack with four players averaging double figures. Mykel Bingham leads the way at 13.1 points per game on 61% shooting while adding 6.4 rebounds per contest. Tyler Hamilton averages 12.9 points per game and ranks among the league's top playmakers at 3.7 assists per game. Donovan Brown-Boyd (12.3 points per game) and Chang Hoth (10.0) give Ferris State two more double-figure scorers, creating a well-rounded scoring profile that can punish teams from multiple spots on the floor.
Beyond this season, the Bulldogs' program history speaks for itself. Ferris State owns more than 1,300 all-time victories, 17 GLIAC Championships, 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, and a national championship in 2018. The Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen five times since 2004 and have consistently been among the league's standard-bearers, including an NCAA Tournament appearance a year ago.
Ferris State leads the all-time series 16-5. The teams split last season, with Parkside earning a marquee home win over the then-No. 4 team in the country, 78-66, on Jan. 16, 2025, before Ferris State answered in Big Rapids with a 69-60 win on Feb. 22. Parkside is 2-8 over the last 10 meetings and just 1-9 on the road all-time, with the Rangers' lone road win in the series coming in November 2016 (85-75).
LOOKING AHEAD:
After the New Year's pair, Parkside returns to De Simone Arena for two more GLIAC matchups next week, hosting Lake Superior State on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. CT and Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. CT.
To keep up with all things Rangers, visit parksiderangers.com/coverage.
