INCARNATE WORD 90, MIDWESTERN STATE 83 2OT
It took extra time Saturday night but Incarnate Word got the job done with a double-overtime 90-83 win over visiting Midwestern State in Lone Star Conference South Division action.
The game came with extra garnishes. This was the third time this season that Incarnate Word (14-2; 3-1) had faced a top-25 team in the nation and the Cardinals are now 3-0. In this week's poll by the coaches association UIW is ninth while Midwestern State (14-4; 2-2) is 23rd.
Then, this was the sixth straight regular-season game between these two rivals that had gone into overtime dating back to 2001. The count is now even at 3-3 and this one is the only double-OT contest. MSU had won the last two and counting this game the last four in San Antonio have been overtime. And, Midwestern State had won the last four games of any sort over the Cardinals including 2009 and 2010 in the South Central regional tournament.
Senior guard Eric Stewart was the hero, and the hero again for the Cardinals. At the end of regulation he made one of two free throws to tie the game at 67 to force the first extra period. And, with the ball in the air, the buzzer sounded at the end of the first overtime but his three-pointer tied it again at 77. In the second extra five minutes he made another three-pointer sandwiched by four free throws.
“We knew when it left his hand,” UIW Coach Ken Burmeister said of Stewart's tying three-pointer, “it looked good. We hit some big free throws when we needed them. This game was just like the one at Tarleton State last week. It was a game of runs and big shots at critical times.”
About those free throws. In the first overtime the Cardinals were but one of four at the line. In the second overtime UIW went a perfect 8-8 including the four by Stewart.
On the night the Houston Kempner product finished as the game's leading scorer with 23 including 10 in the overtimes. His stat line included 4-5 on three's, three rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Senior forward Tracy Robinson provided more than adequate help for Stewart with his 22 points and a team high nine rebounds. Junior forward Chris Johnson finished with 13 points with the fourth UIW player in double points was junior guard Shaun Umeh with 12.
Midwestern State was led by 20 from both Deuce Nichols and Darrick Thomas.
And one more feature of the victory. It was number 14 of the season for the Cardinals. That means that no matter what happens the rest of the way, even including post season, Incarnate Word and Coach Ken Burmeister will have their fifth consecutive winning record.
