Ailing Cardinals fold in second half
Nursing a broken left hand, UIW sophomore Christian Peevy played the first half of Wednesday’s game wearing a brace. The protective padding prevented him from catching and handling the ball as smoothly as he wanted, so he left the brace in the locker room at halftime, playing the second half with his hand exposed.
“It’s definitely a risk,” Peevy said. “Even me being on the floor is a risk. Doctors told me
Auburn blasts A&M
» that. It’s still broken. They said if you fall, it’s going to be probably way worse, and you might have to get surgery and all that. But that’s a risk I'm willing to take for my team. They need me.”
Despite Peevy’s effort, shorthanded UIW was unable to hold up through another injury, losing 77-60 to Central Arkansas at the McDermott Center.
The Cardinals haven’t run five-on-five drills in practice the past couple weeks, typically dressing just seven or eight players for games.
On Wednesday, freshman guard Morgan Taylor was added to the injured list, sitting out for the first time this season after pinching a nerve in his shoulder Saturday against Sam Houston State. Taylor entered the night as the Cardinals’ leader in points and assists.
“That was a big impact. Morgan is huge for us,” Peevy said. “He’s a great player. When he’s not on the floor, it’s really felt.”
Taylor averages 11.3 points and 3.0 assists per game. No other UIW player averages better than two assists per night, and on Wednesday the Cardinals (6-11, 1-3 Southland) totaled eight assists against 17 turnovers.
His absence put added pressure on freshman guard D.J. Murray, who had been highlighted by coach Carson Cunningham as one of the Cardinals’ most productive players of late before finishing scoreless with one assist and four turnovers.
“It’s very, very rare to have seven or eight guys (injured) out of your 15, even the redshirts,” Cunningham said. “But you can’t worry about that. You can’t. There’s no point. It doesn’t help us to worry about that. What we need to figure out is how to be strategically smarter.”
Peevy, UIW’s other leading scorer, averages 11.3 points per game, but has been limited in recent weeks after breaking his left hand Dec. 9 against LSU. Guard Augustine Ene led UIW with 18 points.
In his last four games before the injury, Peevy averaged 24.3 points per game. In four games since his return, he’s averaging 2. He scored four points in 25 minutes against the Bears.
“It’s kind of tough, but I have to push through that,” Peevy said. “I can’t make excuses.”
The Cardinals did receive some good news, as Romello Wilbert returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering an MCL injury Nov. 12. In 22 minutes, Wilbert scored three points
with five rebounds.
“I didn’t know if I would be back this year, so it’s a blessing to be back out for the team,” Wilbert said. “Just wish it would’ve come out to victory.”
Des Balentine (back), Bryce Davis (ankle) and Jorden Kite (knee) all sat out, while Keaton Hervey (knee), Corey Sato (ankle) and Brandon Swaby (shin) remain on track for redshirts.
“It’s definitely been difficult. It’s tough to think about,” Peevy said. “It’s actually pretty early into the season for all of these injuries to be happening. But we just have to push through with what we’ve got.”
UIW’s eight-player rotation included four freshmen, three sophomores and no players taller than 6-foot-7. The Cardinals’ lone senior, Charles Brown, was limited to 13 minutes by foul trouble.
Central Arkansas rotated 11 players, including six standing 6-7 or taller, in the decisive win.
“It’s not surprising to me with our youth and our numbers,” Cunningham said. “It's still very difficult to lose, and we’re going to have to face up to it and figure out how you can get better.”
Central Arkansas (8-10, 3-2) opened a 10-point lead with about eight minutes to play in the first half, but UIW ripped off seven points in less than a minute to close the gap.
The Cardinals stayed in striking range until early in the second half, when the Bears scored seven points in a minute to build a nine-point advantage.
“They started to get on a run, and we started to get down on ourselves,” Peevy said. “We can’t do that.”
Central Arkansas went on another run later in the period, netting 13 straight points as UIW went 6:33 without scoring and 9:20 without a field goal. The Bears led by as many as 24 points down the stretch.
“The bottom line with us is we have seven or eight guys, depending on the game,” Cunningham said. “We just have to find out how to hone our operation well enough to do a better job. That's just it. You can’t worry about anything else.”