Box Score SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – "The game is not over until the final buzzer sounds," says the old adage.

The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team nearly learned a hard lesson on Thursday night as they saw their 14-point lead with 2:03 remaining in the game dwindle to just two points with 17 seconds left.  The Cardinals were able to hold to an 82-78 victory over visiting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi thanks to some clutch free throws by Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy Fair HS) and Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS).

While the Cardinals (17-5, 5-4) did not close out the game in style, they played a strong first 38 minutes against the third place Southland Conference team.  They used an 18-4 run late in the first half to take a 10-point halftime lead against the Islanders (10-14, 7-4).

Senior center Ian Markolf (San Antonio/Churchill HS) got the Cardinals off to a good start assisting or scoring on four of the first five buckets of the game.  The Islanders fell behind by six points in the early going, but eventually grabbed a 26-23 lead after a layup by star point guard John Jordan.  However, the Cardinals responded with their big run.

In the second half, the Cardinals kept the visitors at arm's length never letting them get closer than nine points.  The biggest lead of the game came with 3:27 remaining when a Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) put UIW up 74-58.  The lead remained at 14 points after Sam Burmeister (San Antonio/Churchill HS) broke free against the press for an easy layup with 2:03 remaining.

The Islanders did not even score on their next possession, but quickly forced a turnover and Jordan drew a foul.  He hit 1-of-2 free throws and Joy Williamson was there for the offensive rebound which he converted into a conventional three-point play with 1:32 left.  A UIW turnover and a quick layup for Williamson made it an 8-point game.  The Cardinals proceeded to turn the ball over a third straight time and Jelani Currie drained a three-pointer with 1:03 remaining to make it 76-71.

The Cardinals missed a 1-and-1 at the foul line and Jordan cut the lead to three points on a put back with 40 seconds left.  UIW settled down and made their final six free throws in the final 27 seconds, but not before Jake Kocher cut the lead to two points on a three-pointer with 17 seconds to play.

The Cardinals shot 60.8 percent from the field, made 6-of-19 from three-point range and were 14-of-20 at the foul line.  Livingston led the team with his sixth straight 20-point performance to go along with five rebounds, three blocks and three steals.  Hittle added 16 points and five boards while Burmeister and Anthony Horton (League City/Clear Creek HS) each had 14 points.  Badillo had nine points and dished out seven assists.  Livingston needs just 26 points to become the 14^th player in school history with 1,000 career points.

The Islanders shot 48.3 percent from the field, made 5-of-11 from three-point range and were 15-for-18 at the charity stripe.  Rashawn Thomas came off the bench to score 21 points and grabbed six rebounds.  Jordan finished with 13 points, six assists and three steals.  Williamson and Hameed Ali each added 11 points.

The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday at 4 p.m. against SLC rival Houston Baptist.
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