SAN ANTONIO – The University of New Orleans, down by twelve points with 15 minutes remaining in the game, rallied on the strength of three-point shots and free throws to defeat the University of the Incarnate Word, 61-52, on Saturday afternoon in a Southland Conference men's basketball game at the McDermott Center.
 
UIW, ahead by four at halftime after shooting 57.9 in the first half, subsequently built a 40-28 lead on strength three pointers by Augustine Ene and Charles Brown III. But from that point, 15:10 on the clock in the second half, UNO made five three-point baskets and 10 free throws to outscore UIW, 33-12, for the remainder of the game.
 
In the second half, UNO was awarded 15 free throw attempts; UIW did not go to the line in the final 20 minutes.
 
UIW, still looking for 40 minutes of consistent basketball this season, fell to 6-14 overall and 1-6 in conference play. UNO is now 10-9 and 5-3 in the SLC.
 
NOTABLES

•  Christian Peevy scored 20 points, hitting 10 of 15 shots from the floor. Ene scored 16 and Brown 11.
• UIW shot 48.8 percent from the floor; UNO shot 40 percent. UIW made five of six free throws while UNO sank 15 of 19 from the charity stripe.
• Bryson Robinson scored 19, Damion Rosser 11 and Ezekiel Charles 10 for the Privateers.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:

• UIW started Brown, Ene, Peevy, Dwight Murray Jr. and Jordan Caruso.
• Peevy scored the game's first points on a put-back with 18:31 on the clock.
• Two great blocks by Peevy in the first four minutes kept the score at 2-2 at the first media timeout.
• Ene's two free throws at 13:33 knotted the score at 4-4.
• Two baskets by Peevy, one off a crisp assist by Cody Graham, followed by Ene's layup, gave UIW a 10-4 lead at the 10:45 mark.
• Peevy dunked at 10:47 off of a Brown assist and then scored on a layup at 8:27 to give UIW a 14-9 lead.
• Brown's two free throws and a subsequent layup off of Murray's assist made the score 18-11, UIW, with 7:08 left until halftime.
• A long corner jumper by Ene at 4:55 gave UIW a 21-13 lead.
• UIW held a 10-point lead, 23-13, at the 3:56 mark, but UNO outscored the Cardinals, 12-6 to close the UIW margin to four at halftime, 29-25.
• UIW shot 57.9 from the floor in the first half. The Cards held the Privateers to 31 percent.
• Peevy shot 7 for 8 from the floor and scored 14 points in the first half.

 
Second Half:

• Two three pointers, one by Ene and the other by Brown, put UIW ahead by nine, 37-28, with 18:30 left in the game. A three pointer by Ene at 15:10 gave the Cardinals a 12-point lead.
• UNO cut the Cardinals' lead to eight points on two occasions prior to the media timeout at 11:48.
• After UNO cut the UIW lead to five, Murray's short jumper extended the Cardinals' lead to seven. Then another Privateer three-pointer cut the UIW lead to four, 46-42.
• Two free throws at 9:48 put UNO within two, 46-44.
• Another Privateer three pointer put UNO ahead, 49-48, at 8:17.
• After the teams exchanged one-point leads for two minutes, UNO went ahead by three, 53-50, at 5:07 on the clock.
• Peevy's layup at the 4:07 mark cut the UNO lead to one, 53-52.
• UIW did not score for the last 4:06 of the game, while the Privateers netted eight points during that stretch.

 
COACH CUNNNINGHAM SAID
"Obviously, we were hoping for a better result. The guys put together 30 or so good minutes, but we didn't have enough in the tank to keep it going. We're just all going to have to keep striving to improve execution. But ultimately New Orleans played hard and executed late. They deserve credit for that. We've just got to keep battling."
 
     
NEXT UP
UIW plays HBU Wednesday night in a Southland Conference game. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the McDermott Center.

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