SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – University of the Incarnate Word senior point guard Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy Falls HS) broke a 21-year old school record on Saturday, but the Cardinals still lost to visiting Sam Houston State University in the Southland Conference men's basketball opener on Saturday at the McDermott Center, 78-72.

Badillo had the Cardinals (5-7, 0-1) offense rolling in the first half.  He dished out four assists that led to 11 points and scored five points of his own in the first eight minutes of the game.  However, UIW only led the Bearkats (6-8, 1-0), 21-20 at the time.  The first half ended with the Bearkats on a 9-2 run and a 41-35 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Sam Houston State came out and quickly built up a 47-37 lead with 15:42 remaining.  The Cardinals responded with an 18-5 run and led 55-52 with 9:25 to play after a pair of free throws by Derail Green (Houston/Klein Forest HS).  During the run, Badillo set a new school record for career assists when he dished off to Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/West Aurora HS) on an out-of-bounds play for a layup.

Following Green's free throws, the Bearkats relied on the hot hand of freshman guard Josh Delaney.  He entered the game averaging less than five points per contest, but he proceeded to make four three-pointers over the next six minutes.  The biggest one came with 5:32 remaining to give SHSU a 63-61 lead that they would not relinquish.  UIW only trailed by three points with 1:38 remaining, but they could get no closer.

Delaney finished the game with 19 points off the bench for the Bearkats.  He went 7-of-12 from the field and made 5-of-8 from three-point range.  Dakarai Henderson led Sam Houston State with 23 points while Jamal Williams had eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists.  The team shot 43.9 percent from the field, made 9-of-26 from three-point range and was 19-of-29 from the foul line.  They had nine more rebounds than UIW.

The Cardinals shot 41.7 percent from the field, made 6-of-20 from three-point range and were 16-for-19 from the foul line.  Green led the team with 17 points and six rebounds.  Badillo finished with 14 points, six assists and four rebounds while Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) added 14 points and six boards.  Badillo broke the UIW record for career assists with his fifth assist of the game.  The record had been held by Kenneth Watson since 1995.  Badillo broke Watson's record of 423 assists in 29 fewer games.

The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday at home against Northwestern State at 4:30 p.m.
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