Box Score SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team remained perfect in 2013 with a 66-62 win over visiting Lone Star Conference foe West Texas A&M on Thursday night at the McDermott Center. (Box Score)

The game was close the entire way, but it was a 50-second sequence that was likely the difference between a win and a loss for the Cardinals (8-5, 4-1).  Leading 60-59 with the clock nearing 1:30 to play, Dionelle Rucker (San Antonio/New Life Christian Academy) blocked a layup attempt by Nate Drayton that led to a fast break layup for Lyn'Dale Brown (San Antonio/Judson HS).  The Buffalos (10-3, 2-3) missed a three-point attempt on their next possession and Anthony Horton (League City/Clear Springs HS) was able to leak behind the defense for an easy breakaway layup to make it a five-point lead for the Cardinals with 45 seconds to play.

The Buffalos closed to within 64-62 after a long three-pointer by Tez Dumars, but Horton calmly sank both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it a two possession game with 24 seconds to play.  WT was unable to draw any closer.

The Buffalos led for the majority of the first half as they received a spark off the bench from Drayton who scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds, including five on the offensive end.   WT led by as many as six points, but settled for a 31-28 lead at the half.

Less than a minute into the second half the Buffalos upped their lead to eight points after a three-pointer from Dumars and a layup by Kennon Washington who would score 13 of his game high 21 points in the half.  A three-pointer by freshman Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) put the Cardinals back on track and they quickly got back into the game.

The Cardinals took their first lead of the half on a layup by Rucker with 13:17 remaining.  The two teams would trade the lead seven times over the next 10 minutes as neither team was willing to give an inch.  UIW took the lead for good with 3:00 remaining on a lay-up by Rucker to make it 60-59.

The Cardinals shot over 50 percent from the field for the seventh time on the season making 26-of-51.  They connected on 6-of-14 from three-point range as Hittle and Andre Corley (Baytown/Baytown HS) each hit a pair of important long range shots.  The team was 8-for-12 at the line and only committed nine turnovers.  Rucker led the team with 18 points and seven rebounds while Horton finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.  Hittled added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists while Corely finished with 11 points off the bench.  Brown had an all-around strong game with eight points, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and an amazing dunk in the first half.  Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) only had four points, but hit a key layup and blocked five shots.

The Buffs shot 38.6 percent from the field, made 7-of-22 from three-point range and were 11-of-13 at the foul line.  In addition to Washington, Drayton finished with 10 points and nine boards and Dumars added 10 points.  Donald Sims, the team's leading scorer heading into the game, managed only four points in the game.  They had 36 rebounds and committed 13 turnovers.

The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday at 4 p.m. against LSC rival Eastern New Mexico at the McDermott Center.
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