BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team was tied at halftime at California on Wednesday night, but they were unable to pull off the upset in a 74-62 loss at Haas Pavilion.

The Cardinals (3-4) played an excellent first half.  They trailed by four points with just under nine minutes left in the half when they went on a 9-0 that included a three-pointer and a layup by Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS).  The latter gave the team a 25-20 lead.  They continued to hold a slim lead as the first half clock ran down, but Jabari Bird drained a three-pointer for the Bears (7-2) to tie the game at 31-31 heading into halftime.

Bird opened the second half with another three-pointer.  A pair of fast break dunks by Jaylen Brown and a three-pointer from Jordan Mathews gave the Bears an 8-point lead less than three minutes into the half.  The Cal lead ballooned to 13 points with 11:01 remaining in the game when the Cardinals mounted a comeback.

Hittle scored on a conventional three-point play to start the UIW run.  A little while later he drained a three-pointer, stole a pass and Simi Socks (Coppell/Coppell HS) followed  with a three-pointer to cut the Cal lead to 56-51 with 8:28 remaining.  Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/West Aurora HS) picked up another steal for the Cardinals on the next possession.  The Cardinals missed two chances to make it a one possession game.

The Cardinals pulled to within four points on a jumper by Walker with 6:46 to play.  UIW was able to hang close until the Bears were able to put the game away with a 7-0 run.
UIW shot 36.8 percent from the field, made 8-of-20 from three-point range and were 12-of-18 at the charity stripe.  Hittle led the team with 18 points, six rebounds and three steals while draining four from long range.  Shawn Johnson (New Orleans, LA/Alief Hastings HS) added 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals for his third straight game scoring in double figures.  Walker and Socks each scored 13 points apiece.  Walker led the team with four steals while Socks was a perfect 6-of-6 at the foul line.  The team finished with 13 assists, 13 steals and only eight turnovers.

The Bears shot 51.9 percent from the field, made 8-of-23 from three-point range and were 12-of-22 at the foul line.  They had five players score in double figures led by 15 off the bench from Bird.  Tyrone Wallace just missed a triple-double with 14 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.  Ivan Rabb contributed a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting.  The Bears committed 19 turnovers and grabbed 21 more rebounds than the Cardinals.

Incarnate Word is back in action on Tuesday at home against Our Lady of the Lake with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at the McDermott Center.
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