CHICAGO – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team, its ranks thinned by injuries, fought back from a 15-point halftime deficit but eventually fell to the University of Illinois at Chicago, 63-57, on Monday night to begin a two-game Chicagoland road trip.
 
The Cardinals, playing the penultimate game of their non-conference schedule, fell to 5-7 prior to Wednesday's scheduled game with DePaul of the Big East Conference. UIC improved to 5-7.
 
NOTABLES

• The Cardinals played without the services of leading scorer Christian Peevy, who was sidelined with an injury. Of the 15 players on the UIW roster, six are not playing because of injury.
• Senior Charles Brown III led all UIW scorers with 14 points. Freshmen Dwight Murray Jr. and Morgan Taylor scored 13 and 11, respectively.
• Freshman Bryce Davis led the team in rebounding with six.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:

• UIW started Murray, Brown, Davis, and Jordan Caruso and Augustine Ene.
• The Cardinals jumped out to a 5-1 lead on a three-pointer by Murray and a jumper by Davis.
• UIW took a 9-3 lead on a free throw followed by a three-pointer by Brown.
• UIC went on a 9-0 run in three minutes to take a 12-9 lead.
• A jumper by Murray tied the score at 13-13.
• UIC went on a 5-0 run to lead 18-13.
• UIC extended its lead to 30-19 with six minutes left in the half.
• Two consecutive buckets by Murray cut UIC's lead to seven with three minutes remaining in the half.
• The Flames went on a 17-4 run over the last two and one-half minutes to take a 45-30 halftime lead.
• UIC finished the half shooting 59 percent. UIW shot 43 percent.
• Brown had 12 points and Murray had nine for the Cardinals.

Second Half:

• Ene began the second half with a jumper from the right corner.
• Caruso's three-point play cut the UIC lead to 12 at the 16:32 mark.
• Taylor's two free throws with 15 minutes left cut the UIC lead to ten, and his subsequent layup reduced UIC's lead to 47-39.
• Taylor's free throw cut the UIC lead to seven at 12:25
• At 11:23, Taylor's two free throws cuts the lead to five, 49-44.
• After UIC went ahead by 10, UIW cut the lead to six with five minutes left.
• Caruso's free throw with 14.9 seconds left closed the margin to 61-55 in favor of UIC, and his layup at the buzzer made the final margin 63-57.

COACH CUNNINGHAM SAID
"We showed some grit in battling our way back into the ball game. There are certainly things, from the second half in particular, which we can build upon. Ultimately, though, UIC deserves credit for getting the win. We need to use the strong stretches of this game as motivation moving forward."
 
NEXT UP
The Cardinals will stay in Chicago for Wednesday night's game against DePaul. Tipoff time is 7:30 p.m. (CT).
 
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