HAMMOND, La. – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team played defending Southland Conference regular season champion Southeastern Louisiana evenly until the last four minutes of the game on Wednesday night, but the Lions came away with a 70-64 win at the University Center on the SLU campus.
 
NOTABLES

• UIW's Charles Brown III scored 23 points.
• Jorden Kite made two three pointers.
• UIW hit 52.2 percent of its shots from the floor and was almost perfect from the free throw line, making 14 of 15.
• SLU broke open a close game with a mid-second half 16-4 run, but UIW followed with a 12-0 streak to keep the game competitive.
• The Cardinals achieved several crucial stops in the last four minutes, but the Lions managed to hold UIW without a basket until Jordan Caruso scored with 13 seconds left.
• Moses Greenwood scored 25 for SLU.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:

• UIW started Brown, Caruso, Kite, Augustine Ene and Christian Peevy.
• The Cardinals, propelled by two short jumpers by Brown, a layup by Peevy, and a jumper and free thrown by Cody Graham, took a 9-4 lead at the first media timeout – 15:24 remaining in the half.
• Three consecutive three-pointers by the Lions' Jeremiah Saunders gave SLU a 15-13 lead with 11:54 left.
• For the next four minutes, the Lions' lead varied between two and four points, until Kite's three pointer at 7:25 pulled the Cardinals to within one point, 21-20.
• Brown, fouled on a hook shot, made two free throws at 6:47 to give UIW a 22-21 lead.
• Kite's second three-pointer gave UIW a 25-21 lead with 5:38 remaining. Then, Caruso's layup extended the UIW lead to six with 4:46 left
• SLU tied the game at 27-2 7at 3:46.
• For the remainder of the half, the margin vacillated between a tie score and a four-point UIW lead – until at the buzzer, the Lions' Von Julien hit a three-pointer to put SLU ahead, 36-33, at halftime.
• At halftime, Brown had 12 points for the Cardinals. Graham had seven and Kite six.
• UIW shot 65 percent from the floor and was 5-5 from the free throw line. 

Second Half:

• SLU opened with a 7-2 run to take an eight-point lead.
• A layup and follow-on free throw by Brown cut the SLU lead to three, 43-40.
• Ene's jumper cut the SLU lead to one, 43-42, at 16:08.
• After a SLU free throw, Brown's two foul shots at 14:52 tied the score, 44-44.
• For the next five minutes, SLU went on a 16-4 run to take a 60-48 lead.
• Then UIW went on a run of its own. Layups by Murray and Ene, followed by Ene's free throw, cut the Lion lead to seven. Then, a fast break layup by Graham, followed by Graham's free throw, made the score 60-56 with 7:17 left.
• Peevy's jumper made it a 10-0 UIW run, reducing the SLU lead to 60-58 with 5:50 left.
• Then, at 5:12, Peevy's two free throws tied the score, 60-60, capping a 12-0 UIW comeback streak.
• Brown's two free throws knotted the score at 62-62 with 4:27 left.
• SLU outscored UIW 8-2 in the final four minutes to take the victory.

 
NEXT UP
UIW returns home on Saturday, Feb. 16, for a 3 p.m. tipoff against Abilene Christian. The Cardinal women's team plays ACU at 1 p.m. It will be Military Appreciation Day at the
McDermott Center.

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