SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Despite playing without second leading scorer Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS), the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team ran their record to 5-0 with an 85-68 win over visiting St. Edward's University on Thursday night at the McDermott Center.

The Cardinals and Hilltoppers have a long history dating back to the Heart of Texas and Heartland Conference eras for the schools.  The two teams played a tight first half with three ties and seven lead changes. 

The Hilltoppers led by as many as six points in the early going, but the Cardinals would respond with a strong 10 minutes of play to take a 29-21 lead with 5:30 left in the first half.  St. Edward's put together a 10-2 run to tie the game on a Trey Lindsey layup with 3:06 left.  The Cardinals would eventually take a 40-37 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Cardinals cut down on the turnovers and looked to senior guard Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) to assert himself.  He scored 16 of his game high 23 points in the half and led a strong second half performance by UIW.  The Hilltoppers scored the first basket of the half, but a 13-1 run gave UIW the breathing room they needed to cruise to the win.

The Cardinals shot 47.5 percent from the field, made 8-of-21 from three-point range and were 19-of-30 at the charity stripe.  Livingston finished with his second double-double of the season.  He had 23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals.  Four other players scored in double figures.  Traylin Farris (Pearland/Manvel HS) had 15 points and nine rebounds while Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy Falls HS) added 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds.  John Baker (Adkins/East Central HS) provided a spark off the bench with seven points and eight rebounds.  The team had 43 rebounds, 18 assists and 16 turnovers.

The Hilltoppers shot 37.8 percent from the field, made 3-of-20 from three-point range and were 9-for-11 at the foul line.  Harley Nussman led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end.  Frankie Mgbolu added 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals while Lindsay chipped in 14 points and five rebounds.  They had 42 rebounds, nine assists and 16 turnovers.

The Cardinals are back in action on Monday night at UTEP at 7 p.m.
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