SAN ANTONIO – The University of Central Arkansas used hot second half shooting to defeat the University of the Incarnate Word, 77-60, in a Southland conference men's basketball game Wednesday evening at the McDermott Center.
 
Central Arkansas, which hit 55 percent from the floor in the second half, improved its record to 8-10 overall and 3-2 in conference play. UIW fell to 6-11 and 1-3.
 
NOTABLES

• UIW fell behind by ten points midway through the first half, but the Cardinals cut the Bear lead to two points shortly before halftime.
• UIW kept it close for the first four minutes of the second half, but UCA used several second-half runs to widen the gap.
• Augustine Ene lead the Cardinals with 18 points and six rebounds. Eddy Kayouloud scored 18 for the Bears.
• With an 11 for 13 performance at the free-throw line (84.6 percent), the Cardinals protected their NCAA Division I lead in free-throw shooting.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:

• UIW started Ene, Dwight Murray Jr., Antoine Smith Jr., Christian Peevy, and Charles Brown III.
• Brown scored UIW's first two baskets, as both teams got out to a 4-4 tie in the first three minutes.
• With UCA holding a four-point lead at 12:32, Romello Wilbert entered the game for the Cardinals. It was his first action since being injured in UIW's fourth game of the season on Nov. 12.
• Ene's three pointer at 11:40 closed the gap to a three-point Bear lead, 16-13.
• Cody Graham's layup at 7:30 stopped a 7-0 UCA run that had given the Bears a 10-point lead.
• Graham then hit a three-pointer, followed by Peeve's layup, that pulled the Cardinals back within three, 23-20, at 6:34.
• Wilbert's three-pointer at 4:24 cut the UCA lead to two, 27-25.
• The Bears led at halftime, 33-29.
• Each team hit 42.9 percent of its shots from the floor in the first half.

Second Half:

• The margin fluctuated between a three-and five-point Bear lead for the first four minutes of the second half.
• For the next six minutes, UCA widened the lead to nine, but the Cardinals managed to cut the margin to six multiple times.
• A 9-0 run gave the Bears an 18-point lead, 64-46 at the 6:28 mark.
• The Bears largest margin would be 24, but multiple baskets by Ene and Murray helped the Cardinals trim the final score to 17.

NEXT UP
UIW continues its two-game homestand on Saturday afternoon, when it takes on Stephen F. Austin in a 3:30 p.m. tip at the McDermott Center. The game is part of a doubleheader. The UIW women's basketball team plays the Lady Jacks from Stephen F. Austin at 1 p.m.
 
Both games will be televised on ESPN3. David Saltzman and Van Chancellor will call the action.
 
Saturday's doubleheader has been designated as "Operation Sellout."

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