Box Score THIBODAUX, LOUISIANA – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team picked up a milestone 20^th victory on Saturday afternoon in their first season as a member of NCAA Division I, but not before making things extremely interesting.  UIW won on a Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy Falls HS) layup with three seconds to play, 69-67.

The Cardinals (20-6, 8-5) were either tied or in the lead for 38 minutes of the game, but it did not stop the Colonels (12-13, 9-7) from nearly nicking the game in the end.

UIW led 62-47 after a three-pointer by Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) with 4:41 remaining in the game and it looked like it was all over.  The Colonels pulled to within eight points with 3:18 to play, but the Cardinals responded with quick buckets by Anthony Horton (League City/Clear Creek HS) and Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) to push the lead back to 12 with 2:24 left.

Nicholls started to make their move with 1:08 to play.  Sam McBeath drew a foul on a three-pointer and only made 1-of-3, but they grabbed the offensive rebound and McBeath drained a three-pointer with a minute left to make it 66-60.  Over the next 36 seconds the Cardinals would go 1-of-5 at the foul line while the Colonels scored on a layup and a three-pointer to make it 67-65 with 18 seconds left.

The Colonels put on the full court press and induced a UIW turnovers and Dantrell Thomas was fouled.  He made both free throws with 10 seconds remaining to tie the game.  The Cardinals ran a pick-and-roll for Badillo, the point guard, and he was able to take it all the way to the hoop for the winning score.  Thomas got off a contested shot in the lane for Nicholls, but could not get it to fall.

The Cardinals had five players score in double figures and shot 48.1 percent from the field.  They made 9-of-20 three-pointers with Sam Burmeister (San Antonio/Churchill HS) connecting on four.  The team went 8-for-18 at the foul line and it almost cost them the game.  Burmeister led the team with 18 points and nabbed three steals while Hittle and Livingston each had 13.  Hittle led the team with eight rebounds while Livingston led the team with six assists and four steals.  Horton finished with 11 points and seven rebounds while Badillo added 10 points and five assists.  The team had 15 assists and only seven turnovers.

The Colonels shot 43.1 percent from the field, made 5-of-18 from three-point range and were 18-for-28 at the charity stripe.  Jeremy Smith led the team with 18 points and five rebounds.  Thomas, McBeath and Amin Torres each scored in double figures as well.  Nicholls held a big advantage on the glass with 41 rebounds to only 28 for UIW.

The win guarantees the Cardinals a winning record in the Southland Conference and also a 20-win season.  They close out the year next Saturday at SLC rival Abilene Christian.

NOTE: Livingston was held below 20 points for the first time in 10 games.
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