CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team suffered a 71-70 loss on the road to Southland Conference rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday night at the American Bank Center.

The Islanders (12-9, 7-2) star point guard John Jordan took over the game in the final four minutes.  The Cardinals (12-6, 4-4) led by five points with 4:00 remaining when Jordan made a layup and then hit a three-pointer with 1:52 left to tie the game.  After a turnover by UIW, Jordan gave the Islanders a 67-65 lead with a jumper and then he stole the ball from the Cardinals and drew a foul.  He hit 1-of-2 from the foul line, but the Cardinals missed a potential game-tying shot with 21 seconds left.  Jordan would make 3-of-4 free throws in the final 12 seconds to seal the game for Corpus Christi.

It was the third conference game this year that the Cardinals have lost by a bucket or in overtime.  It was also the seventh time the team has played a game decided by two points or less or in overtime.

The Islanders led for most of the first 13 minutes of the game before the Cardinals closed the half on a 19-3 run to take a 38-29 lead into halftime.  Freshman Traylin Farris (Pearland/Manvel HS) led the first half charge for UIW with 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field.

The Cardinals pushed the lead to 10 points on a three-pointer by Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) early in the second half.  The Islanders followed with an 11-2 run that was capped by a Brandon Pye three-pointer with 15:24 to play.  Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) and Livingston followed with back-to-back three-pointers for the Cardinals to push the lead back to seven points.  UIW continued to maintain their lead and were up 63-58 with 4:00 remaining after a pair of free throws by Hittle before Jordan took over the game.

The Cardinals shot 55.8 percent from the field, made 10-of-19 from three-point range and were 12-of-18 at the foul line.  Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy Falls HS) led the way with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists as all five starters scored in double figures.  Farris finished the game 6-of-6 from the floor and scored 15 points while Livingston added 15 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.  Turnovers hurt the Cardinals as they committed 17 while forcing nine and the Islanders outscored them by 10 points in points off turnovers.

The Islanders shot 48.1 percent from the field, made 5-of-16 from three-point range and were 16-of-23 from the foul line.  Rashawn Thomas had 20 points and 10 rebounds while Jordan finished with 19 points and 10 assists.  Pye chipped in with 12 points.

The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday at home against Lamar with tip-off slated for 7:35 p.m. at the McDermott Center.  The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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