SAN ANTONIO – Clutch free-throw shooting in the final minutes cemented individual scoring contributions by Charles Brown III and Antoine Smith Jr., who bucketed 17 points each, as the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to win its first Southland Conference game -- a 65-58 defeat of Nicholls on Saturday night at the McDermott Center on campus.
 
UIW improved its record to 6-9 overall and 1-1 in the conference. Nicholls fell to 8-7 and 1-1.
 
NOTABLES

• The Cardinals survived a disappointing first-half shooting performance, 28 percent, to manifest a complete metamorphosis in the second half. UIW scorched the nets at a rate of 62 percent during the final 20 minutes.
• UIW, the nation's free throw percentage leader among Division I teams, turned in an 8 for 8 preference from the charity stripe. Six of the free throws occurred in the final 2:35 of the second half and served as the glue that held together the Cardinals' first conference win.
• Antoine Smith Jr. scored 17 points, a career high.
• Brown and Dwight Murray Jr. hauled down seven and six rebounds, respectively, as the Cardinals won the rebounding battle against the taller Colonels.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:

• UIW started Murray, Smith, Brown, Augustine Ene and Morgan Taylor.
• Nicholls took a 7-2 lead, but consecutive buckets by Taylor, Ene, and Brown gave UIW an 8-7 lead after the first five minutes of play.
• Nicholls took a seven-point lead, 17-10, with 12:07 left, but Smith's three-pointer and subsequent layup cut the margin to 17-15 with 10:20 remaining.
• Smith's driving dunk gave the Cardinals the lead, 19-18, with 7:55 remaining.
• Nicholls led at halftime, 26-21.
• Smith had 11 points for the Cardinals. 

Second Half:

• Nicholls scored the first seven points of the half to take a 33-21 lead at the 18:20 mark.
• From that point until 14:20, a span of four minutes, UIW went on a 13-0 run to take a 34-33 lead. Caruso and Smith each scored twice, Brown hit a three-pointer, and Murray had a basket during that run.
• After Nicholls regained a one-point lead, consecutive buckets by Ene and Brown gave UIW a three-point lead, 38-35, with 12:05 left.
• From that point, the lead changed hands five times, with neither team leading by more than two points, until UIW took a four-point lead with 3:21 left.
• Murray's layup with 1:46 remaining in the game gave UIW its first six-point lead, 59-53.
• Key free throws by Murray and Brown, two by each player, in the last minute allowed UIW to protect its lead and seal its first conference win. 

COACH CUNNINGHAM SAID
"Happy for the fellas – they stuck with it. It's not easy to lose and we've had challenging practices, but they stuck with it and are working together. So, I'm pleased for them. You can't get too high or too low in the conference battle, so tomorrow we learn from this game and get ready for the next one."
 
NEXT UP
UIW plays next on Jan. 12 against Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas. Tipoff time is 5:30 p.m.
 
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