SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – After starting the season 8-1, the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team has dropped their last three games, but will have a chance to start a new winning streak on Monday night against New Orleans at 7 p.m. in the McDermott Center.
The Southland Conference matchup is the first home game for the Cardinals (8-4, 0-2) since December 4. Fans are encouraged to wear white shirts to the game as part of "White Out Night."
The Cardinals are coming off a 103-101 loss at Northwestern State on Saturday where the Demons won on a last second shot. UIW has lost their first two Southland Conference games by a total of eight points.
UIW is the sixth highest scoring team in the nation this year with 84.1 points per game. Senior guard
Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) scored a career high 37 points at Northwestern State and moved from eighth to fifth on the UIW career scoring list with 1,366 points. He leads the Southland with 22.8 points per game and is currently second in the nation. He also averages 6.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
The Cardinals have two other players who are averaging at least 10 points per game. Freshman
Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/West Aurora HS) is scoring 17.5 points per game and is an 85.2 percent free throw shooter. Junior
Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) chips in with 14.0 points per game and he is eighth in the nation in three-point percentage, 53.5 percent.
The Privateers (5-6, 1-1) played their first two conference games of the year at home getting a win over Lamar while losing to Sam Houston State. Christavious Gill is the team's leading scorer at 11.9 points per game while Kevin Hill is averaging 10.5 points 7.4 rebounds per contest. Last year, the Cardinals defeated the Privateers in New Orleans, 78-55.
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