KENOSHA, Wis. — Purdue Northwest used a free-throw heavy second half and a 48-point closing 20 minutes to pull away late, handing Parkside a 78-70 loss Thursday night inside De Simone Arena.

The Rangers (11-14, 5-12 GLIAC) dropped their second straight game and fell in the season series to the Pride (12-12, 8-9 GLIAC), despite a pair of milestones from Luka Mateski and Paxton Warden.

Parkside led 31-30 at halftime after shooting 11-of-26 from the field, but Purdue Northwest flipped the game after the break by getting to the stripe and knocking down timely threes, going 18-of-22 at the line in the second half while adding six triples. The Pride finished the night 21-of-26 at the foul line and 11-of-28 from three.

Warden paced Parkside with 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting and 8-of-12 at the line, and his final made field goal of the night pushed him to 1,000 career points. Mateski added 20 points off the bench and went 13-of-19 at the free-throw line to break the program's single-season record for free throws made. Fawaz Surakat chipped in six points and a team-high seven rebounds while adding three blocks, and Ethan Ivan finished with six points on a pair of threes (2-of-5 from deep).

Purdue Northwest got a balanced attack led by Garrett Clark's 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting with four threes (4-of-8). Kyle Ross posted 16 points and six rebounds while going 8-of-10 at the line, and Kwat Abdelkarim scored 12 points on three made threes (3-of-6) off the bench. Ahlante Askew added eight points, and the Pride's bench accounted for 26 points.

The game swung on extra possessions and turnovers. Purdue Northwest won the second-chance points battle 17-9 and scored 21 points off turnovers while Parkside managed eight. The Pride also finished with 14 offensive rebounds and held a 41-29 rebounding edge. Parkside countered with paint production (30 points in the paint) and volume at the line (25-of-37), but the Rangers could not find enough consistency from deep, finishing 5-of-24 from three after going 1-of-12 in the first half.

Parkside's best stretch came late in the first half, when Warden's early three and a string of paint finishes helped the Rangers build momentum and carry a one-point lead into the break. Purdue Northwest answered immediately out of halftime, turning stops into points and stretching the margin with a combination of threes and free throws. The Pride pushed in front by as many as 11 in the second half and repeatedly steadied themselves at the line during every Parkside push.

The Rangers made it a two-possession game in the final minutes, but Purdue Northwest closed the door with free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Parkside returns to De Simone Arena for the final home game of the regular season Saturday, hosting Wayne State at 3 p.m. CT for Senior Day.

To keep up with the Rangers, visit parksiderangers.com/coverage.