EL PASO, TEXAS – A poor shooting night and three runs by the University of Texas at El Paso were enough to give the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team its first loss of the season on Monday night at the Don Haskins Center, 81-65.

The Miners (5-3) had runs of 14-2 and 12-2 in the first half to build up a 34-13 after a Hooper Vint dunk with 5:20 remaining in the period.  The Cardinals (5-1) got back in the game by closing the half on a 16-6 run capped by a Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/West Aurora HS) three-pointer with six seconds remaining in the half.

Early in the second half, the Miners put together an 8-0 run to take a 48-30 lead.  The Cardinals scored the next nine points of the game to pull to within 48-39 with 14:37 remaining in the game.  It was the closest UIW would get to the Miners.

The Cardinals shot 34.9 percent from the field, made 6-of-25 from three-point range and were 15-of-23 at the foul line.  Walker scored a career-high 30 points for UIW going 11-of-22 from the field and 5-of-10 from three-point range.  Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) was the only other player on the team in double figures with 17 points and seven rebounds.  Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) led the team with nine rebounds while Shawn Johnson (Gretna, LA/Alief Hastings HS) had five steals.  Overall, the Cardinals were outrebounded 47-23, but forced 22 turnovers while committing eight.

The Miners shot 64.7 percent from the field, made 2-of-9 from three-point range and were 13-of-17 at the foul line.  Vince Hunter posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.  Earvin Morris, Lew Stallworth and Julian Washburn each scored in double figures.  The Miners had 20 assists while the Cardinals had seven assists.

The Cardinals are back in action on Wednesday night at Nebraska for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
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