THIBODAUX, LOUISIANA – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team used an efficient offensive attack to defeat Southland Conference rival Nicholls on the road on Saturday, 69-58.

The Cardinals (12-5, 4-3) scored the first 12 points of the game and never trailed the entire game.  Despite the quick start, the Cardinals were not able to put the Colonels (5-13, 2-6) away until late in the game.

Nicholls did not scored until Luka Kamber made a three-pointer with 11:50 to play in the first half.  However, they quickly cut into the Cardinals lead pulling to within three points after a layup by JaMarkus Horace with 6:12 left in the half.  UIW tried to pull away from the Colonels, but were unable in the first half and went into the break with a 30-27 lead.

The Cardinals came out strong in the second half and built up a double-digit lead behind the play of Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Waltrip HS).  Badillo knocked down a three-pointer at the start of the half and then made six straight free throws to give the team a 49-37 lead with 10:17 left in the game.  In the final 10 minutes, the Colonels were able to get as close as five points, but no closer.  UIW went 8-for-8 at the foul line in the final 1:35 to clinch the game.

The Cardinals shot 54.1 percent from the field, made 5-of-12 from three-point range and made 24-of-28 from the foul line.  It was the eighth game this season they have shot over 50 percent from the floor.  Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds.  Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) scored all 15 of his points in the first half and went 7-for-7 at the foul line.  Badillo scored all 11 of his points in the second half and Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/West Aurora HS) also scored 15 points.

The Colonels shot 38.3 percent from the field, made 5-of-16 from three-point range and were 7-for-9 at the foul line.  Sam McBeath led all players with 21 points and nine rebounds while making 9-of-14 from the floor.  Marquis Nelson added 10 points off the bench.

The Cardinals are back in action on Tuesday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.
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