ABILENE, TEXAS – An 11-1 second half run propelled the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team to a 77-61 win at Southland Conference rival Abilene Christian University on Saturday at Moody Coliseum.

The Cardinals (10-5, 2-3) made six of their first seven shots of the game and jumped out to a 14-6 lead.  The Wildcats (9-10, 3-3) quickly got back in the game, but UIW was able to expand their lead to 12 points after a layup by Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) with 6:15 left in the half.  The Cardinals maintained the double-digit lead until ACU's Christian Albright made a layup at the buzzer to make it 42-34 UIW at the break.

In the second half, the Wildcats were able to tie the game on three occasions, but were never able to take the lead.  The final time they tied the game was on a pair of free throws by LaDarrien Williams with 9:46 remaining.  The Cardinals responded with an 11-1 run over the next three minutes capped by a three-pointer by Hittle with 6:54 to play.

The Cardinals finished the game strong and pushed the lead to 18 points before ending at the final margin of 16 points.  The win was the first on the road in conference play for UIW this year.

The Cardinals shot 58.0 percent from the field, made 6-of-13 from three-point range and were 13-of-20 at the foul line.  Hittle led the team with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.  Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) added 17 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting.  Freshmen Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/West Aurora HS) and Traylin Farris (Pearland/Manvel HS) combined for 28 points and 11 rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting.  The team had 11 more rebounds than the Wildcats.

The Wildcats shot 48.9 percent from the field, made 4-of-16 from three-point range and were 13-of-21 at the foul line.  Harrison Hawkins led the team with 18 points while Austin Cooke added 14 points and five rebounds.

The Cardinals have now defeated the Wildcats in all three of their meetings at the Division I level.  UIW is back in action on Monday at home against McNeese State at 7 p.m.
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