Rangers Capture Title
Men's Basketball Tops GLVC
Published: March 1, 2014
Rangers Claim Second Straight GLVC East Crown
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (Feb. 27, 2014) -- The 24th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad capped off the regular season in style on Thursday night, defeating 18th-ranked Lewis University 76-70 inside Neil Carey Arena to capture the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division crown for the second consecutive season.
"Tonight was one of the better defensive efforts of the year for us," said head coach Luke Reigel. "We showed we can play and beat anybody. You go two months of GLVC play and go 15-3; that's impressive."
Host Lewis (21-5, 13-5 GLVC) secured the opening four points before the Rangers (22-5, 15-3 GLVC) surged with 13 of the next 17 over the next four minutes, building a 13-8 advantage. The homestanding Flyers collected the next seven points to reestablish the lead.
Book-ended by three-pointers from Jordan Mach and Jimmy Gavin, the Rangers mounted a 14-5 spurt to secure a seven-point advantage with 2:40 left before halftime. Mach drained a three at the buzzer as the visitors enjoyed a 32-26 lead at the halftime break.
UW-Parkside extended its edge to double digits early in the second half with Zygimantas Riauka collecting the first four points of the stanza. The UW-Parkside buffer extended to a game-high 13 points off a Mach trey with 14:04 remaining.
The Flyers whittled the gap to single digits with nine straight points with 11:08 left. Lewis pulled within six with 45 ticks left but UW-Parkside converted its free throws down the stretch to preserve the win and snap the Flyers' home win streak at 17 games.
Riauka poured on 21 points to lead the Rangers, shooting seven-for-nine from the floor. Mach canned five threes and amassed 15 points while Andy Mazurczak chipped in nine with five assists.
Jeff Jarosz headlined Lewis with 19 points with Ryan Jackson adding 15. Julian Lewis led the way on the glass with a game-high 15 boards. UW-Parkside hit 50 percent (22-for-44) of its chances from the floor while Lewis shot 45.5 percent (20-for-44). The Flyers dominated the glass, owning 31-18 edge.
The Rangers return to the hardwood next Friday, heading to the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., for the quarterfinals of the 2014 GLVC Tournament.