SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team lost both of its games this week. First to Lamar, 59-68, and later to Houston Christian University (HCU), 84-78, on Saturday afternoon.
 
Four players scored in double-figures for UIW on Thursday night. Jonathan Cisse had 14, Josh Morgan had 13 and Niki Krause finished with 10. Stephon Payne III had another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
To start the game, Nate Calmese was on fire for Lamar going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from the 3-point line with 15 points in the first half. The leading scorer, and only player in double digits, for UIW in the first half was Payne III who had 12 points and six rebounds. The teams played similarly, both shooting 50 percent from three and less than 60 percent from the field. The difference in the half was free throws as UIW knocked down three more than Lamar taking a two
 point, 38-36, lead into the break.
 
Coming out of the half, Calmese scored seven straight points for Lamar flipping the lead in their favor, 43-39. Their hot streak continued, pushing Lamar's lead to the largest of the game at 53-42. UIW hung around, cutting the lead to two with five minutes remaining but Lamars offense proved to be too much as LU took the game, 68-59.
 
In their second game of the week, the Cardinal backcourt of Miller (18 points) and Cisse (20 points) got back into rhythm to lead the team in points. 
 
The first half was a hard-fought battle. UIW was called for seven fouls compared to only four against HCU. The Cardinals shot 65 percent from the field, led by Miller and Cisse who each had 10 to give UIW a 39-36 lead at halftime. 
 
With just under 16 minutes to go in the second half, Cisse knocked down a three, converted an and-one and made two free throws, pushing the Cardinal lead to seven. However, the Cardinal bigs, Ben Griscti and Payne III both found themselves in foul trouble. The Huskies capitalized on this and went on a 15-1 run with all but three of their points coming from the paint or the free throw line, taking a 73-65 lead. Down the stretch HCU shot 12 of their 30 free throws. UIW was able to hang around for a little behind a few Dylan Hayman 3-pointers, but it wouldn't be enough, and the Cardinals fell by a score of 78-84.
 
UIW will be on the road next week for their second match up against McNeese and Nicholls.
 
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