SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team used a 43-point second half to battle its way back to a 65-59 victory against McNeese on Wednesday, marking its second straight win and fifth out of the last seven contests.
 
NOTABLES 

• Freshman guard Keaston Willis scored 23 points, tying his career high for 3-pointers with six. He tied another career high with five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists to round out another stellar performance.
• Drew Lutz scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half, knocking down four 3-pointers and adding four assists. 
• Junior guard Des Balentine had a team-high five assists to go with his eight points on the night. 
• Freshman forward Vincent Miszkiewicz pulled down nine rebounds and swatted a career-high five shots in the win.
• The Cardinals tripled the number of 3-pointers the Cowboys made, hitting 12 to McNeese's four.
• UIW picked up 22 points off turnovers to McNeese's five, and more than doubled the Cowboys' second-chance points with 17.
• The Cardinals outscored the Cowboys 43-31 in the second half, shooting 48.4 percent after starting the game 25 percent from the floor. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
Freshman forward Marcus Larsson opened the scoring with a mid-range jumper and Willis, Lutz and Dwight Murray Jr. each hit a three on the next three possessions as UIW raced out to an 11-2 lead. The Cardinals went cold offensively for a six-minute stretch as the Cowboys rode a 13-0 run to take a 15-11 lead. Willis revived the UIW offense, scoring the Cardinals' next 11 points, including three more 3-pointers, to bring the Cardinals to within two with just over two minutes left in the half. McNeese hit a pair of jump shots to take a 28-22 lead going into the break.
 
SECOND HALF
The Cowboys opened the half on a 6-1 run, but UIW bounced back with a 13-2 run over the next two minutes to regain the lead, 35-34. McNeese again made another push, stringing together a 16-6 run to take its largest lead of the game. Lutz scored five points as part of a 10-0 run for UIW to regain the lead once more. The Cowboys' next five points came from free throws as they gained a 56-55 advantage with three minutes left to play. Jump shots from Balentine and Murray Jr. put UIW back in front. Murray Jr. iced the game with a pair of free throws to seal the 65-59 victory. 
 
UP NEXT
UIW will look for its third-consecutive win against Stephen F. Austin at 4:15 p.m. (CT) Saturday, Feb. 22 at home at the McDermott Center.
 
STAY TUNED 
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook. 
The UIW men's basketball team is on Twitter at @UIWMBB and Instagram at @uiwmensbasketball.