SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Playing in front of a near capacity crowd of 2,108 at the McDermott Convocation Center, the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team opened the 2015-16 season with an 86-65 win over Texas Lutheran University.

The game was a choppy contest that included a total of 61 fouls between the two squads.  The Cardinals (1-0) outscored the Bulldogs, 31-10 from the charity stripe and never trailed in the contest.

The Cardinals led by 13 points at halftime and led 45-29 just 3:30 into the second half when the Bulldogs went on a 13-0 run to pull to within three points.  Zach Behr and Jordan Kouremetis combined for all 13 of the points.  Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy Falls HS) helped sparked the Cardinals by scoring six points in a quick 13-2 run by UIW over the next three minutes.  The Cardinals led by double figures over the final 10 minutes of the game.

UIW shot 41.0 percent from the field, made 5-of-22 from three-point range and were 31-of-42 at the foul line.  Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) led the team with 18 points and six rebounds while making 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.  Derail Green (Houston/Klein Forest HS) just missed a double-double in his first career game for the team scoring 14 points, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking three shots.  Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/West Aurora HS), Simi Socks (Coppell/Coppell HS) and Tyler Singleton (Dallas/Triple A Academy) each scored in double figures.  Badillo finished with eight points and six assists. 

The Bulldogs shot 40.0 percent from the field, made 7-of-19 three-point attempts and were 10-of-20 at the foul line.  Kouremetis led the team with 17 points and knocked down four three-pointers.  Behr added 14 points while Sterling Holmes chipped in with 12 points and seven boards.  They committed 25 turnovers.

The Cardinals are back in action on Monday at 7 p.m. against Schreiner University.
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