SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team tips off the new season on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. at the McDermott Center against visiting Texas Lutheran University.
The Cardinals are entering the third year of a four year transition period to NCAA Division I. They have had great success in their first two seasons going 39-17 and they earned a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament last year. The team is under the direction of
Ken Burmeister who is entering his 10
th year with the Cardinals.
Senior
Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) and
Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/Aurora West HS) are the top returning scorers for UIW. Hittle averaged 15.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while knocking down 60 three-pointers in 2014-15. Walker finished his freshman year with 13.7 points per game and he made 48 three-pointers. The teams averaged nearly 80 points per game over the last two seasons and have finished in the top 10 in the nation in scoring each year.
The Bulldogs are a member of the SCAC and they went 18-10 last year and won the conference tournament. Guard Jordan Kouremetis was the team's leading scorer last year with 14.3 points per game and he made 79 three-pointers. Sterling Holmes also averaged in double figures last season at 12.5 points per game.
The Cardinals and Bulldogs have a long history playing against each other dating back to the 1980's when the teams were both members of the Heart of Texas Conference. UIW holds a 26-11 advantage in the all-time series. The last time the two teams played was November 15, 2008 when the Cardinals won 101-58 at home.
The game will be broadcast online at
www.tsrnsports.com and the game will be live streamed online at portal.stretchinternet.com/uiw.
####
pr15562smm
