BEAUMONT, Texas – Sophomore Marcus Larsson recorded his third double-double of the season and sixth of his career as fellow sophomore Keaston Willis and freshman Logan Bracamonte scored double-figures as the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team snapped a seven-game skid against Lamar with a 67-58 win Wednesday night inside the Montagne Center.
Willis continues to shine with his seventh 20-point piece, finishing with 22 on 6-for-14 shooting and 4-for-6 from 3-point range on the night. In his return since last playing at New Orleans, Larsson scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds to help pace the visiting Cardinals.
Both sides struggled to hit the bucket early, swapping empty possessions over the first six minutes of the game. The San Antonio Cardinals (7-8, 4-4 SLC) found some momentum midway through the half and pulled away after Willis knocked down back-to-back 3s at the nine and seven-minute marks to ignite the UIW offense. Drew Lutz, Bracamonte and Brandon Swaby cashed in from deep to put UIW up 33-18 with just over a minute left in the first half.
Larsson pitched in with nine points and a team-high six rebounds. UIW shot 45.8% (11-for-24) in the half and 6-for-9 from downtown with Willis leading the way. The sophomore guard was a perfect 3-for-3 from deep and scored 15 points and UIW took a 33-21 advantage to the locker room.
Lamar (4-12, 2-5 SLC) went on a 10-3 run to open the second half and got within three (34-31) with 15 minutes to play, but UIW found a way to keep Lamar at bay after Des Balentine answered with a driving layup and Bracamonte hit another trey to build a nine-point lead.
Swaby made it a ten-point game with a jumper at 13:40 as UIW went on a 22-13 run over the next ten minutes and gained its largest lead of the game, 66-58, with three minutes to play getting everyone involved in the offensive attack.
Lamar's first half shooting struggles carried over to the second half. After shooting just 23.3% (7-for-30) in the first half the Beaumont Cardinals finished the night at 37.5% (21-for-56) and ten turnovers, which doomed a second-half comeback effort.
Davion Buster led Lamar offensively with 19 points and Quinlan Bennett added ten as the only home Cardinals in double figures.
COACH CUNNINGHAM SAID
"I was really impressed with the moxie the fellas showed. Lamar is a tough, well-coached outfit. They made things tough and scored in bunches. Our fellas kept their composure weathering some runs and kept battling. I am very happy for them. This league is a battle-royale, and we have to take it one game at a time. We will enjoy the bus ride home, then on to the next one."
LOOKING AHEAD
UIW takes a trip to Corpus Christi to play the Islanders for the second time in just three weeks on Saturday Feb. 6 at 3:30 p.m.
The Cardinals are back at the McDermott Center for Wednesday night and Saturday night home games against Northwestern State and New Orleans, respectively.
FOLLOW ALONG
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Follow the team on Twitter @UIWMBB and on Instagram @UIWMensBasketball.
