GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Panther men's basketball team was hoping for the season sweep of Parkside on Thursday night to start the second round of GLIAC play. The Rangers got a few big contributions and pulled away in the second half for a 78-60 victory. Josiah Palmer scored a career-high 25 points for the Rangers going 9-of-13 from the floor including 5-of-8 behind the arc. He also had four assists, two steals, and no turnovers in 32-plus minutes. Jamir Simpson added 21 points and nine rebounds. He went 8-of-8 at the free throw line and 6-of-11 from the floor. Parkside finished the game with no bench points.

Davenport and Parkside had four ties before the first media timeout and were 9-9. The teams were tied for the sixth time at the second media timeout at 13-13. The Rangers built a 23-15 lead with eight minutes left in the first half and the Panthers got within four points on three different occasions including 35-31 at halftime

The Panthers hung tough in the second half over the first couple of minutes and trailed 44-43 after a Jeff Carrier three-point play at the 14:57 mark. Parkside would then hit two triples and get fouled on a three-pointer and make all three free throws to lead 53-47 at the under-12 media timeout.

The Rangers then scored seven straight points after the media timeout to increase their lead to 61-47 after a Rasheed Bello triple. The lead would remain double digits for the remainder of the game as Parkside improved to 14-6 (7-3) while Davenport is now 6-14 (2-8). Davenport finished 41.1 percent shooting overall and were 9-of-13 at the foul line. Parkside held a big advantage at the foul line going 23-of-27.

Marcedus Leech Jr. led the team with 18 points including 12 first-half points. Chaz Birchfield scored 12 points going 5-of-7 from the floor and also had five assists and no turnovers in 25-plus minutes. Jaden Terrell and James Felton each had eight points.