SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team stumbled through the first half on Monday night against Southland Conference rival Houston Baptist University, but exploded in the second half for a 77-64 win at the McDermott Center.

The visiting Huskies (11-13, 6-8) controlled the first half of action thanks to their inside duo of Ricmonds Vilde and Josh Ibarra.  They two combined for 14 points and 19 rebounds in the first 20 minutes of the game and they dominated the paint area.  They were a big reason why the Cardinals (17-7, 9-5) only shot 31.4 percent from the floor for the half.  Despite the play of Vilde and Ibarra, UIW was able to hang close thanks to some good defense of their own and the fact that they only committed one turnover.

HBU went into halftime with a 31-29 lead and they led 35-31 less than two minutes into the second half on a jumper by Tyler Russell in the paint.  At that point, the Cardinals finally broke free and were able to get out and run.  They scored 14 straight points over a 3:27 span capped by back-to-back fast break layups by Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) and Phillip Johnson (New Orleans, LA/Edison HS).  The Huskies finally stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer by Jourdan Stickler.

The game then became the Kyle Hittle Show.  Hittle scored the next 18 points of the game for the Cardinals hitting a trio of three-pointers, two lay-ups, a jumper and three free throws in less than five minutes.  UIW continued to pour it on and grabbed a 20-point lead after a three-pointer by Shawn Johnson (Gretna, LA/Alief Hastings HS) with 6:13 remaining in the game.  All in all, the Cardinals scored 43 points in the first 13:47 of the half.

The Cardinals ended up shooting 57.7 percent from the field in the second half and finished the game at 42.6 percent for the game.  They made 7-of-18 from three-point range and were 18-of-22 at the foul line.  Hittle finished with a season high 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds while draining 4-of-5 from three-point range.  Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) contributed 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and three steals while Traylin Farris (Pearland/Manvel HS) added 13 points.  Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy Falls HS) dished out six assists to lead the team.  They had two more rebounds than the Huskies and committed three fewer turnovers.

The Huskies shot 39.7 percent from the field, made 4-of-14 from three-point range and were 14-of-19 at the foul line.  Ibarra had 14 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in 25 minutes off the bench.  Anthony Odunsi led the team with 15 points while Stickler had 10 points.

The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday at Lamar for a 6 p.m. game.
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