SOMERS, Wis. – Wisconsin-Parkside used a 17-2 run in the first half to break free from Missouri S&T Thursday night and went on to hand the Miners a 94-70 Great Lakes Valley Conference loss Thursday night.

The 12^th-ranked Rangers held a 19-16 lead in what had been a tight contest over the first 11 minutes after Marcus Walden (Augusta, Ga./Academy of Richmond Co.) hit a jumper.  But starting with a backdoor lay-in by Andy Mazurczak on UW-Parkside's next possession, the Rangers got their run started, which was then accelerated by back-to-back three-pointers by Jimmy Gavin.

The lead would grow to 18 by the time the run ended a little over four minutes later and the Rangers would carry a 44-27 lead to the intermission.

S&T, which held the lead for a three-minute stretch early in the contest, got the lead down to 15 twice early in the second half, but Parkside quickly got the lead out beyond 20 and cruised to its fifth straight win as the Miners struggled from the floor for a good portion of the evening.

The Miners hit just 28.9 percent of their shots in the first half and finished the night at 35.8 percent, while the Rangers rebounded from a slow start to hit 52.9 percent in the opening 20 minutes; they finished the game at 47.9 percent.

Desmond Buerge (Carthage, Mo./Carthage) led three Miners in double figures with 18 points, while Walden ended up with 15 and Michael Nesbitt (Evansville, Ind./LaLumiere School) with 11.

Gavin had 18 to pace the Rangers (21-2, 13-1 GLVC), while Jalen Currie added 14.  That duo combined for 24 of those points in the first half to help give UW-Parkside its 17-point halftime advantage.

The Miners, who fell to 9-13 overall and 2-12 in the GLVC, will close out their weekend road trip Saturday when they face Lewis University in a 3 p.m. contest in Romeoville, Ill.