San Antonio, Texas – Junior guard Shawn Johnson swished a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to cut the Cardinal deficit to four, but visiting Rice went 4-for-4 at the line and held UIW scoreless as the Owls held on to a 87-79 win Saturday afternoon from McDermott Convocation Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

UIW (2-2) scored seven of the game's first eight points, and 12-11, but the Cardinals went 3:28 without scoring as Rice led by as many as 11 before Jalin Hart ended the drought with a three-pointer to make the score, 23-15, with six minutes left in the first half. At one point in the half, UIW went just 3-for-21 from the floor.

A pair of free throws by Simi Socks put the Cardinals as close as five, 28-23, with 3:48 remaining, but the Owls closed the half outscoring UIW 12-11 to lead at the break, 40-34.
Hart scored 12 points in the first half to lead UIW with 12 points, while Egor Koulechov scored half of Rice's 40 points.

Johnson started the second half with a trey to bring the Cardinals within three, but that was all the closer the Cardinals got until a three-pointer by Jorden Kite tied the game at 51-all with 12:17 remaining in regulation.

The teams battled back and forth and UIW could not take the lead, as Koulechov answered with consecutive three-pointers each time the Cardinals tied the game.

UIW got to within one, 66-65, with 6:36 left in the game following another Johnson three-pointer, but that was all the closer the Cardinals came as Rice used an 8-2 run to take a seven-point lead with 2:10 remaining.

LEADERS

Johnson scored a career-high 28 points, going 9-for-13 from the floor, 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. The six treys are the most by a Cardinal in a single game since Kyle Hittle went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc against Lamar on Feb. 27, 2016. Johnson's 10 rebounds gave him his second double-double of the season, as he also added a block and three steals in 34 minutes. Socks came off the bench to score 20 points, highlighted by a 12-for-13 effort at the charity stripe. Hart scored 14 points and Tyler Singleton added 10. The Cardinals shot 37 percent from the floor in the game.

Koulechov led all players with 38 points, going 10-of-16 from the floor, 9-for-10 from the line, and hit all six 3-pointers. Marcus Evans scored 20 points and Marcus Jackson chipped in with 14. The Owls shot 43 percent from the floor.

QUOTES

OVERALL THOUGHTS FROM ASSISTANT COACH JOHN SMITH
"We tried our best. We had a few shots rim out, some wasted possessions. We have to get stronger and continue to get better. We left some possessions out on the table and that's what hurts the most, knowing that we had opportunities."

ON EGOR KOULECHOV
"We knew he was a guy who could come in and make shots. We just had some miscommunication down the stretch and he was able to get open."

UP NEXT

UIW hits the road to take on Texas Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m. The game will be shown live on Fox College Sports.

STAY TUNED

The Cardinals return home to start another three-game home stand, beginning Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. against LIU Brooklyn; the second part of a Cardinal basketball doubleheader.

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