Box Score
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations
Box Score
GLVC Tournament Info
Postgame Interview
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Mar. 7, 2014)-- Undaunted by a 14-point deficit, the 19th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball team rallied past University of Missouri-Saint Louis 79-70 on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Deaconess Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament inside the Ford Center.
The Tritons (16-12) never trailed in the opening half, opening the game on an 8-2 run. UMSL continued to capitalize on some uncharacteristically cold shooting from UW-Parkside (23-5), building a 10-point buffer with 10:37 left in the opening stanza. Missouri-Saint Louis increased its buffer to 14 off a Tylor Wimbish layup with 7:56 left in the second half and again off another Wimbish bucket with 7:07 left before the two-time GLVC East Division Champions came alive.
Andy Mazurczak got the rally started with a layup before
Jordan Mach canned the squad's first three of the night, ending a string of nine straight misfires. Mach buried another trey while draining a pair of free throws to cap off a 13-2 spurt, closing within three points at 24-21 with 3:06 left before halftime. The Rangers whittled the deficit to just a point with 90 seconds left before going to the break down 30-26.
The second half was a dogfight with UW-Parkside collecting the first five points to seize the lead for the first time. The lead would switch hands nine times in the second half along with seven ties before the Rangers pulled away down the stretch for the nine-point decision.
Mazurczak hit a jumper to start the second half before Mach bombed a three to give the Green and White its first advantage at 31-30. A layup, a dunk and a free throw put the Tritons back up by four but Parkside fought back, re-securing the lead at 43-42 off a
Zygimantas Riauka three-point play with 14:53 remaining.
Neither squad held more than a one possession advantage until with 11:25 left, the Tritons piled on eight straight to secure a 56-48 lead with just over 10 minutes left. UMSL's eight-point edge was short lived as UW-Parkside battled back and tied the score at 59 with 6:55 left off a pair of
Colt Grandstaff free throws.
A Femi John three reestablished the lead for Missouri-Saint Louis but was quickly countered by UW-Parkside. Grandstaff tied the game with three straight free throws after getting fouled while shooting before a
Jimmy Gavin layup gave the second-seeded Rangers the 66-64 edge with 4:46 left in the game. Parkside never trailed the rest of the way, sinking its final nine free throws on the night to secure the nine-point win and advance to the GLVC semifinals for the second consecutive season.
Second Team All-GLVC selection
Jimmy Gavin paced the Rangers, coming off the bench and pouring on 21 points on eight-for-12 shooting. Mazurczak was a perfect nine-for-nine at the charity stripe, tallying 17 points while Mach sunk all five of the team's shots from beyond the arc, also finishing with 17. Riauka was the fourth Ranger in double figures, adding 14 points while grabbing five boards.
Wimbish led UMSL with 25 points and six rebounds while Darian Cartharn and John chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.
UW-Parkside shot 47.9 percent (23-for-48) from the floor. The Rangers shot a paltry 30.4 percent (seven-for-23) in the opening half before sinking a red-hot 64 percent (16-for-25) in the second half. UW-Parkside owned a 24-8 advantage in points off turnovers and enjoyed a 23-18 advantage in bench points.
The Rangers return to the court on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. where they will face the winner of the University of Indianapolis-Bellarmine University game in the GLVC semifinals.
