SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team fell 57-55 to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville after the Cougars sank a pair of last-second free-throws to clinch the game.
"Man, bummer to lose that," Cardinals coach Carson Cunningham said. "Feel for the guys. They played hard. Gotta give credit to SIUE. They found a way to pull it out. We will stay on the grind, keep battling. I was impressed with the fellas' toughness."
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
SIUE came out firing on a 7-0 run, but a three-pointer from
Drew Lutz followed by a vicious dunk by
Vincent Miszkiewicz brought UIW to within two to stop the early run. The Cardinals placed an emphasis on spreading the ball around in the game's opening minutes, with the next five made field goals coming from five different players. Miszkiewicz came up with the highlight play of the half, throwing down an alley-oop from Lutz to tie the game at 14.
As the half wound to a close, UIW started heating up from outside. D.J. Murray knocked down back-to-back three pointers with around five minutes left in the half and
Keaston Willis added a pair of triples as well, including a 28-foot bank-shot as the shot clock expired.
The Cardinals finished the half on a 15-7 run to take a 31-26 lead going into the break.
SECOND HALF
UIW opened the second period of play on a 9-5 run with three free throws from Miszkiewicz and back-to-back three-pointers from Willis, marking his third and fourth triples of the game. Trailing 48-37 with roughly 10 minutes left in the game, SIUE went on their largest run of the afternoon, scoring nine consecutive points to get within striking distance of UIW. Both teams then traded baskets, with Lutz knocking down a three-pointer and drawing a foul on the shot to halt a 4-0 SIUE run.
However, the Cardinals couldn't find a way to slow down Cougars guard Mike Adewunmi, who scored nine points and brought SIUE all the way back to tie things up at 55 with under a minute left to play. As the final seconds ticked away, Adewunmi drove into the lane and drew a blocking foul with 1.8 seconds left. The junior sank both free throws, sealing the win for SIUE.
NOTABLES
- Miszkiewicz picked up his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to go along with a career-high four blocked shots and two steals
- Willis recorded a career-high 12 points with four made three-pointers
- Murray was 3-3 from beyond the arc for nine points with three assists, three rebounds and a steal
- Lutz set a new career-high for assists with five, adding eight points, two rebounds and a steal
- UIW's perimeter defense was once again exceptional, limiting SIUE to just 27.8 percent shooting from three
- Meanwhile, the Cardinals had their best 3-point shooting night of the season, connecting on 9-24 attempts (37.5 percent)
- UIW forced a season-high 22 turnovers, including six steals
UP NEXT
The Cardinals will look to get back into the win column against Bethune-Cookman at 12 p.m. (CT) Friday, November 22, at the McDermott Center.
"We have an exciting three game homestand, three in a row next weekend, starting November 22," Cunningham said. "Hope to see Cardinals fans out there."
STAY TUNED
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics.
The UIW men's basketball team is on Twitter at @UIWMBB and Instagram at @uiwmensbasketball.
