Box Score KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball teams hooked up in an exciting, drama-filled contest on Wednesday night at Kingsville Hampton Inn Court and it was the visiting Cardinals who escaped with a 74-71 victory.  (Box Score)

The Javelinas (9-7, 5-4) led for the majority of the game, but the Cardinals saved their best for last.  Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) tied the game at 71-71 with a rainbow three-pointer from the win with 1:08 to play.  Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) stepped up on the defensive end to pick up a key steal to give the ball back to the Cardinals.  UIW worked the shot clock under 10 seconds and then ran a hand-off play to Lyn'Dale Brown (San Antonio/Judson HS) who was able to turn the corner and put in a tough driving layup with 13.3 seconds left.

Rashad Basey quickly drove the length of the floor for the Javelinas and tried to tie the game with a running baseline jumper, but could not get it to fall.  Brown was there with the rebound and was fouled immediately.  He made 1-of-2 from the foul line with 4.2 seconds to play.  The Javelinas through a three-quarter length pass after a timeout and Daymon Warren was fouled trying to catch the ball.  He went to the foul line for a 1-and-1, but missed and Livingston was there for the rebound to secure the win for the Cards.

The Cardinals struggled in the first half as they fell behind 16-4 in the first 7:23 of the game and shot only 38.5 percent from the field.  Adonis Bailey got the Javelinas started by scoring their first eight points en route to 22 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting performance.  UIW closed the gap over the next few minutes and eventually took a 21-20 lead after a layup by Livingston, but the Javelinas bounced back and took a 29-23 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Javelinas continued to maintain their lead, but the Cardinals started to get their offense going.  Dionelle Rucker (San Antonio/New Life Christian Academy), the leading scorer in the conference, was held scoreless in the first half, but bounced back to his usual self in the second half and would finish with 13 points.  The Cardinals took their first lead of the half when they put together four straight possessions where they scored three points apiece.  The 12-2 run gave the Cards a 48-44 lead with 12:29 remaining.

The game went back and forth over the next several minutes with each side hitting big shot after big shot.  Livingston and Bailey seemed to be matching each other over the final five minutes of the game basket for basket, but it was Brown's basket that would be the difference.

The Cardinals shot 51.8 percent from the field, made 6-of-11 from three-point range and were10-of-20 at the foul line.  Livingston had his best game for the Cardinals with 26 points and eight rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and a 4-for-5 performance from behind the arc despite coming off the bench.  Rucker had 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and Hittle finished with 10 points and four boards.   The team committed 11 turnovers and had 30 rebounds.

The Javelinas shot 50.9 percent from the field, made 4-of-11 from three-point range and were 11-for-17 at the charity stripe.  Bailey finished with 22 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the field that including four three-pointers.  Basey added 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds.  Warren had 15 points and nine rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor.  The team had 15 turnovers and grabbed 36 rebounds.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday in San Antonio at 4 p.m. at the McDermott Center.
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