Box Score ABILENE, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 59-56 win at Southland Conference rival Abilene Christian on Saturday at Moody Coliseum.

The Cardinals (21-6, 9-5) were held to their lowest point total of the season, but to the win thanks to some strong defense.  They held the Wildcats (11-20, 2-12) to 38 percent shooting from the field and forced them into 20 turnovers. 

The game came down to the final minutes.  UIW senior Anthony Horton (League City/Clear Creek HS) gave the team a six-point lead with 2:22 remaining when he grabbed an offensive rebound and made the put back attempt.  The Wildcats scored on their next two possessions and made it 55-53 UIW with 1:16 to play on a Julian Edmonson layup.

The Cardinals responded with a clutch bucket from Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) with 50 ticks left.  ACU's Parker Wentz cut the lead to one when he scored on an old-fashioned three-point play with 31 seconds left.  UIW missed the front end of a 1-and-1 giving ACU a chance to take the lead.  Horton came up with a huge block for the Cardinals and Hittle came up with the rebound and was immediately fouled.

Hittle made both free throws with four seconds to play and Edmonson's last second three-point try was off the mark for ACU.
The Cardinals shot 43.6 percent from the field, made 4-of-12 from three-point range and were 7-of-11 at the foul line.  Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) led the team with 21 points, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals.  Horton poured in 20 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and he had three blocks.  Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy-Falls HS) dished out eight assists.  Hittle led the team with seven rebounds.

The Wildcats went 20-of-52 from the field, made 6-of-19 from three-point range and were 10-of-11 at the charity stripe.  Wentz led the team with 17 points and five steals while James Pegues added 12 points and six rebounds.

The Cardinals will not wait to see if they receive a bid to play in a non-NCAA postseason tournament.  Livingston set a new school record for most points scored in a season since UIW joined the NCAA in 1999 with 548.
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