Tag Archives: Charles Brown III

UIW surges in second half, defeats Nicholls State, 65-58

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Freshman forward Antoine Smith Jr. sizes up UIW’s first win of the season in Southland Conference play.

Trailing by 12 points early in the second half, the Incarnate Word Cardinals rallied at home Saturday night to beat Nicholls State, 65-58, for their first Southland Conference victory under new coach Carson Cunnningham.

Charles Brown III and Antoine Smith Jr. helped the short-handed Cardinals break a four-game losing streak with 17 points apiece.

In addition, Augustine Ene added 10, and Dwight Murray Jr. contributed 8 points and 7 assists with no turnovers.

Records

UIW 6-9, 1-1
Nicholls State 8-7, 1-1

Notable

Both Brown and Smith have started to come on for the Cardinals. In his last four games, Brown is averaging 18 points on 60 percent shooting from the field. Smith, a freshman from Westerville, Ohio, is averaging 13.3 points in his last three on 57 percent.

Quotable

“He’s a workhorse. He’s always in the gym. Even after tonight, he’ll be working on his game. That’s what I love about him. He pushes me at practice, and I push him. I’m glad to have him on my team.” — UIW senior Charles Brown III, on Antoine Smith, Jr.

Cunningham says UIW is ready for the SLC regular season

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Northern Colorado beat UIW 90-64 on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018 at the UIW Convocation Center.

UIW’s Cody Graham (right) drives on Northern Colorado’s Johnatan Reyes.

Sophomore guard Cody Graham will play Wednesday night when the Incarnate Word Cardinals host the McNeese State Cowboys in a Southland Conference opener for both teams.

First-year UIW coach Carson Cunningham said Graham is a “full go” for the McNeese game after sitting out three straight with an injury.

The 5-10 sophomore from Fresno, Texas, played in UIW’s first 10 games and started nine of them before missing road losses at LSU, Illinois-Chicago and DePaul.

Incarnate Word coach Carson Cunningham gives directions to freshman guard Jordan Caruso in a 90-64 loss to Northern Colorado on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018.

Incarnate Word coach Carson Cunningham gives directions to freshman guard Jordan Caruso in a 90-64 loss to Northern Colorado on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018.

So, getting Graham back is a bonus for the Cardinals (5-8) as they continue preparations for SLC home games Wednesday against McNeese (4-9) and Saturday against the Nicholls State Colonels (7-6).

But as for the playing status of sophomore forward Christian Peevy, UIW’s leading scorer, Cunningham can’t say for sure.

“We’re going to find out,” Cunningham said after Monday’s workout. “We know he’s working hard to get better and as prepared as he can. We’ll know soon.”

Peevy enjoyed consecutive games of 26, 32, 23 and 16 points before sitting out UIW’s last two at Illinois-Chicago and DePaul.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding Peevy and a few others who didn’t do much in a New Year’s Eve workout, Cunningham said UIW is ready for the conference schedule to commence.

“We’re excited,” the coach said. “It’s a great time of year. We feel like we’ve had a difficult, challenging pre-conference slate, and it’s time to tip it up in conference.”

With several players not available, the Cardinals played well, all things considered, on the two-game trip to Chicago.

In a 63-57 loss at Illinois-Chicago, they clamped down defensively, holding the Flames to 18 points and 21 percent shooting in the second half.

Two nights later, in a 81-71 loss at DePaul, the Cardinals rained 14 three-point baskets on the Blue Demons.

Not bad for a banged-up SLC squad against a Big East opponent.

“I thought we did a lot of nice things,” Cunningham said. “I think we’re getting better. I’m hoping we can build off that as we start conference.”

At DePaul, UIW played well in the first half and trailed 42-38.

In the second half, the Cardinals continued to make shots. They were within eight with 11:36 remaining before the Blue Demons stepped on the gas and pumped the lead to 16.

Still, the home team couldn’t pull away, as UIW senior Charles Brown III and freshman teammate Antoine Smith both knocked down five three pointers.

“I thought we showed some real growth,” Cunningham said. “Guys were sharing the apple. We had good movement. We had some good flow. We’re just continuing to battle.”

Antoine Smith Jr. Northern Colorado beat UIW 90-64 on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018 at the UIW Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Antoine Smith Jr. pulls down a rebound against Northern Colorado. Smith scored 15 points on five 3-pointers at DePaul on Dec. 19.

UIW rallies for 80-78 victory in OT to stun North Dakota State

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Freshman guard Morgan Taylor arrived at the University of the Incarnate Word this summer with a nickname of “Mo-Buckets.”

Taylor lived up to the billing Saturday, hitting the winning shot in an 80-78 overtime victory over North Dakota State at The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase.

The Bison led by 15 points in the second half but could not hold off the Cardinals on the second day of the tournament in Nassau, Bahamas.

UIW, under new coach Carson Cunningham, battled from behind in the final minute of overtime for their first win of the season against an NCAA Division I opponent.

First, senior forward Charles Brown III gave the Cardinals a 78-76 lead with a 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining.

On the other end of the floor, North Dakota State’s Cameron Hunter made a move to the basket, and was fouled, and hit two free throws to tie it.

After a UIW timeout, the Cardinals worked the ball to Taylor, who hit the winning shot with 26 seconds left for the eventual final score.

UIW of the Southland Conference escaped with the win when North Dakota State’s Vinnie Shahid missed a three-pointer.

Taylor finished with 24 points, five rebounds and two steals for the Cardinals, who improved their record to 4-2 on the season.

Brown added 14 points and sophomore guard Cody Graham 13.

Tyson Ward scored 14 to lead the Bison, followed by Rocky Kreuser (13) and Jared Samuelson (12). With the loss, North Dakota State of the Summit League fell to 1-3.

Notable

Taylor played under coach Gene Nolan at Marist High School in Chicago. He averaged 21.8 points in his senior year at Marist.

UIW’s Cunningham wants to play with ‘competitive fire’

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I’m really anxious to go out and watch Coach Carson Cunningham’s home debut as the University of the Incarnate Word’s men’s basketball coach tonight.

UIW will host St. Francis of Illinois at 7 p.m. at the McDermott Convocation Center.

As tipoff draws near, I remember the first time I had a chance to interview the new coach.

Back in March, UIW had just announced Cunningham, and I was on another assignment out on the Northwest Side of San Antonio.

I can’t remember if he called me, or if I called him, but when I did get him on the phone, I was sitting in the foyer of a Luby’s restaurant.

It was pretty strange, with people coming in and out of the eatery, and I’m sitting on a little bench, asking the coach about his vision for the future of the program.

“The goal is to build a values-infused program that aligns with the mission of the university, delivers a fulfilling experience for the student-athletes and has a tremendous competitive fire,” Cunningham said.

Now that I think about it, I may need to go grab a late lunch before tipoff.

Records

UIW (0-1)
St. Francis (0-0)

Season opener

Texas Tech shot 63 percent in the second half Tuesday night and blew out UIW, 87-37. Tech was an Elite Eight team last year in the NCAA tournament.

Players to watch for UIW

Antoine Smith — A 6-7 freshman from Westerville, Ohio, who scored 16 at Texas Tech on 5 of 9 shooting.

Charles Brown III — A 6-7 senior from New Orleans, Brown led UIW in scoring last year. He was held to five points in Lubbock.

Coming up

UIW plays at home Saturday night, hosting Texas-Tyler, and again on Monday, against Texas Lutheran.

Notable

St. Francis coach Ryan Marks is a familiar face in Texas college basketball circles, having coached previously at St. Edward’s University in Austin and at Texas-Pan American in Edinburg.

UIW forward Charles Brown III takes it strong to the basket against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. (Soobum Im / The University of the Incarnate Word)

Abilene Christian beats UIW 69-59 in regular-season finale

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Abilene Christian kept its Southland Conference playoff hopes alive Saturday with a 69-59 victory over the Incarnate Word Cardinals.

The Wildcats held UIW to 27 percent shooting in the second half in rallying from a four-point halftime deficit.

Center Jalone Friday led Abilene Christian with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Tevin Foster also scored 17 for ACU.

Forward Charles Brown III paced UIW with 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Trailing by nine points, Incarnate Word rallied Saturday into a 37-33 halftime lead over Abilene Christian in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Charles Brown III hit two baskets, followed by a driving layup from Augustine Ene.

Finally, Sam Burmeister drained a three pointer at the buzzer (see video above) to lift the Cardinals into a four-point lead at the break.

The game was played in front of an announced crowd of 1,256 at UIW’s Convocation Center.

Central Arkansas hands UIW its sixth straight loss

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Senior Jordan Howard lived up to his reputation as one of the nation’s top scorers Wednesday night by pouring in a career-high 41 points in a 92-76 home victory for Central Arkansas over slumping Incarnate Word.

Howard, who ranks fifth in NCAA Division I in scoring, hit 11 of 22 from the floor, 4 of 9 on three-pointers, and 15 of 17 at the free throw line for Central Arkansas (9-9, 3-2).

Jordan Howard is the older brother of Marquette sophomore Markus Howard, who scored an NCAA season-best 52 points in an overtime victory at Providence last week.

Redshirt freshman Christian Peevy and junior Charles Brown III scored 24 points apiece for the Cardinals (5-9, 0-4), who lost their sixth straight game.

Trailing by 23 points at intermission, UIW out-scored Central Arkansas 25-9 in the first seven minutes of the second half to pull within 62-55.

But the Cardinals couldn’t sustain the run and got hit with an 18-7 run from the Bears to fall behind by 15, effectively putting the game out of reach.

UIW plays next on Saturday at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. on ESPN3.

Reasons to believe in the Incarnate Word Cardinals

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It’s back to the film room for UIW coaches a day after an 85-74 home loss to the Sam Houston State Bearkats.

Clearly, the Cardinals will need to figure some things out before this week’s Southland Conference road trip to Central Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin.

Yes, UIW has lost five in a row. And, yes, senior point guard Jalin Hart says he expects to be out two weeks getting some academic issues resolved.

But that doesn’t mean the Cardinals (5-8, 0-3 SLC) can’t get some momentum going during a stretch of four-of-five games on the road over the next three weeks.

Here are a few reasons to hold out hope for the Cardinals in their quest to reach the SLC tournament.

No. 1, power forward Charles Brown III (jersey No. 13 in your program) is playing well. See video below.

As mentioned, UIW faces a tough stretch in the schedule — at Central Arkansas and at Stephen F. Austin. Then home against Lamar and back on the road again to New Orleans and Houston Baptist.

But the presence of Brown on the floor may command a double team, even on the road, if he can keep hitting shots like this:

Another intriguing talent at UIW is redshirt freshman Christian Peevy.

In the second half against Sam Houston when the Bearkats made their big run, Peevy seemed to lose some confidence, not unusual for a young player.

But in the first half he showed some grit on the defensive end, taking a charge, and then displayed nice touch on a mid-range jumper.

See below:

Senior Sam Burmeister, the coach’s son, played a solid all-around game against the Bearkats, scoring 16 off the bench on 6 of 10 shooting.

Burmeister is a tenacious competitor and can hurt an opposing team with his long-range accuracy.

We have the evidence:

With Hart out of the lineup, Cody Graham will start. And, if you missed it, that was Graham getting into the paint and kicking out a pass to Burmeister in the video clip above.

Other players will need to step up. Forward Simi Socks didn’t seem comfortable in the offense against the Bearkats. Socks can score and is just in a funk right now.

I also think 7-foot Konstantin Kulikov will be OK. But Kulikov played only one minute against Sam Houston. Coaches just seemed hesitant to put him on the floor.

A key to any long-range aspirations for the Cardinals is true freshman Keaton Hervey, who has been erratic, while also showing flashes of talent.

Here’s a clip of Hervey, dunking in the first half:

Of course, after Hervey’s dunk, UIW coaches took him off the floor because of some sort of strained muscle.

Which, when you think about it, is the story of the Cardinals’ season thus far.