Hot start carries Cardinals to 83-61 victory over McNeese
 
SAN ANTONIO – Freshman Logan Bracamonte and sophomore Keaston Willis got the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball out to a fast start as the two nailed each of their first two 3-point attempts to give the Cardinals a 12-0 lead before McNeese got on the board. That was the start UIW was looking for against Southland Conference foe, McNeese, on Wednesday night, cruising to an 83-61 victory over the Cowboys inside the McDermott Center in the Cardinals' Southland Conference home opener.
 
With his sixth 3-pointer of the game at the 8:54 mark in the second half, Willis netted the 100^th in his young career and moved into a tie with Mitchell Badillo for tenth in program history. His seventh trey came four minutes later to set a new personal best. Willis' career night led the Cardinals with 28 points, five assists and three rebounds.
 
It was the accuracy and energy the team fed off as the black and red held the lead from the tip-off.
 
"Keaston got in a great rhythm tonight; he was moving with a purpose and his teammates were finding him. Everyone was sharing the rock and flying around tonight and played with energy the entire game," UIW coach Carson Cunningham said.
 
Willis connected on his third trey at the 9:06 mark to push the lead to 15 (23-7). The Cowboys found a rhythm over the next three minutes to cut the lead down, 28-14, with six minutes to play in the half.
 
The Cardinals (5-5, 2-1 SLC) continued to fly around the floor and knocked down shots to hold a 39-27 lead at the break. UIW shot 44.8% (13-for-29) in the half and connected on 52.9% (9-for-17) from beyond-the-arc while limiting the Cowboys to just 42.3% shooting overall.
 
UIW maintained a 10-point lead through the first ten minutes in the second half before Willis and Drew Lutz hit back-to-back treys to make it a 16-point lead (60-44) and put the game away.
 
Freshman GG Ezedinma also posted a career-best 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting, adding a team-high five rebounds, an assist, block and a steal as he was all over the floor. Lutz polished off the night with 13 points, hitting three treys, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the line and dishing out five assists.
 
The Cardinals shot 57.7% (30-for-52) and a season-high 59.3% (16-for-27) from 3-point range while limiting the league's best 3-point shooting squad to 29.4% (5-for-17).
 
Carlos Rosario led the Cowboys with 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting and KeyShaun Feazell added 17 on a night where the nation's top 3-point shooter from a year ago, Dru Kuxhausen, was held to five points.
 
COACH CUNNINGHAM SAID
"I was really happy for the guys. They have been working hard all season. They came out tonight and they were really sharing the apple, cutting off the ball and shooting really well tonight. It also started on the defensive end tonight as well; they were really locked in. But we know we can't get too high in this league. It's one step at a time. We are going to savor the win tonight, learn from it and get ready for SFA on Saturday."
 
LOOKING AHEAD
UIW hosts Southland Conference preseason favorite SFA on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 6:30 p.m. CT. The Cardinals take a quick trip to Beaumont on Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. before hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 6:30 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
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