SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word won the home opener of its men's basketball season on Friday night, defeating the University of St. Francis-Illinois, 63-49 at the McDermott Center.
 
UIW continues its three-game homestand on Saturday night against UT Tyler. Tip-off time is 7 p.m.
 
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FRIDAY'S SUPERLATIVES

• The Cardinals jumped out to a 10-point lead early in the second half, briefly lost it when St. Francis took a one-point lead, but then roared back for a 14-point victory.
• It was the first win of the coach Carson Cunningham era for UIW.
• Cunningham started four freshmen and one sophomore, but eventually it was the contributions of two veteran players, Charles Brown III and Christian Peevy, who won the game for the Cardinals.
• Brown led the team with 14 points, mostly in the second half, and Peevy contributed ten, all in the first half.
• UIW outshot St. Francis from the field 60 to 29 percent.
• Two freshmen, Antoine Smith Jr. and Romello Wilbert, each pulled down seven rebounds to pace the team. 

COACH CUNNINGHAM SAID
"It was great to see the fellas play D. We need to strive to make progress each day and I think we did that. It's important to credit St. Francis' players and their illustrious one-of-a-kind coach, Ryan Marks. They played well and played hard. They helped us get better. I hope we did the same for them. They're all battles. We aim to battle on."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:

• UIW led 32-24 at the half.
• UIW started four freshmen and one sophomore, but Christian Peevy came off the bench to score 10 first-half points. He had six rebounds.
• Peevy had a spectacular dunk and a blocked shot.
• Two freshmen, Bryce Davis and Antoine Smith Jr., scored six and five points, respectively
• UIW outshot the Saints, 56 percent to 21 percent from the floor.
• The Cardinals dominated points in the paint: 18 for UIW, six for St. Francis.
• The lead changed hands six times and the game was tied six times during the half.
• 17 of UIW's 32 points were scored by players who came off the bench. 

Second Half:

• UIW took what was then its largest lead of the game, 10 points, at the 18:30 mark.
• Then, by dint of strong outside shooting from St. Francis and colder shooting by the Cardinals, the Saints took a one-point lead at the 11:52 mark.
• UIW clawed its way back, however, and reclaimed a 10-point lead with 5:15 left in the game.
• Consecutive buckets by Romello Wilbert and Morgan Taylor, the latter a driving dunk, contributed to that run.
• Charles Brown's layup on Taylor's assist gave UIW a 12-point lead with two and one-half minutes left in the game.
• Another layup by Brown contributed to the 14-point winning margin. 

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