CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team fell Saturday on the road against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 78-70. With McNeese's win over Houston Baptist later in the day, UIW was eliminated from contention for a spot in the Southland Conference tournament.

"The fellas battled," Cardinals coach Carson Cunningham said. "It was a one-possession game with about a minute and a half left and I thought we played great D. But you have to give Texas A&M-Corpus Christi credit. They drew a lot of fouls late and got to the line. We showed considerable improvement compared to our first game versus the Islanders. That's encouraging."

NOTABLES 

• Des Balentine set a new career high with 18 points to lead the Cardinals to go along with two rebounds and three assists. His four steals also marked a new career high, and the redshirt junior has now swiped two steals in seven straight games.
• Freshman guard Drew Lutz finished with 15 points, including three triples, two rebounds and an assist.
• Sophomore guard Dwight Murray Jr. turned in a well-rounded performance with nine points, five rebounds and five assists.
• Freshman guard Keaston Willis added 13 points with a career-high three steals.
• The Cardinals scored 26 points off turnovers to the Islanders' nine.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

The Cardinals found themselves in a hole early as the Islanders started the game on a 9-0 run. A 3-pointer from Lutz capped off a 10-4 run to bring UIW to within three. 

The Cardinals took their first lead of the game on a free throw from Murray Jr. to put UIW up 23-22. Both teams traded baskets in the final minutes of the half and a TAMU-CC jumper with one second remaining put the Islanders back on top, 32-31, going into the break.

SECOND HALF

UIW's first four points of the second half came via free throws from Willis and freshman forward Vincent Miszkiewicz. Three of TAMU-CC's next four buckets came from beyond the arc as part of an 11-4 run to give the Islanders a 45-39 lead five minutes into the period. The Cardinals didn't have any field goals from the 13-minute mark to the seven-minute mark, but stayed in the game with seven points from free throws during that stretch.

Trailing 65-57 with four-and-a-half minutes left in the game, UIW sparked a 9-3 run highlighted by a thunderous two-handed jam from Miszkiewicz to bring the Cardinals to within three. The Islanders hit a jumper on the other end, but Willis banked in a 3-pointer to reduce the Cardinals deficit to 70-68 with just under a minute-and-a-half left to play. TAMU-CC managed to ice the game with eight made free throws in the final 90 seconds to seal the 78-70 win.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals return home for their final two games of the season, starting with Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. (CT) Wednesday at the McDermott Center. 

STAY TUNED 

For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook. 

The UIW men's basketball team is on Twitter at @UIWMBB and Instagram at @uiwmensbasketball.