SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team came up short against Houston Baptist on Wednesday night at the McDermott Center, falling to the Huskies, 88-76, to split the season series between the two teams.

"That was a frustrating result," Cardinals coach Carson Cunningham said. "It was disappointing to get knocked out of postseason action in a tight one Saturday, but we need to come out with more fire. Saturday at our final home game, we need to play with the same energy that got us in contention for postseason play."

"Houston Baptist deserves credit. They played well. We had a slew of good looks from deep in the second half and couldn't knock many down. But Houston Baptist also made it hard to get stops. We will keep battling."

NOTABLES

• Freshman guard Keaston Willis scored 23 points and tied a career high with five rebounds and six made 3-pointers.
• Freshman guard Drew Lutz finished with 20 points and six assists, marking the third time this season he's scored 20 or more points.
• Freshman forward Derek Van Vlerah set a new career high with three blocks.
• Redshirt junior Des Balentine added 10 points and four rebounds, marking the third straight game he's scored in double figures and eight out of the last 11.
• The Cardinals were nearly perfect from the free-throw line, shooting 25-26 (96.2 percent) on the night.

The Huskies (4-24, 4-15 SLC) raced out to a 10-0 run, but Lutz hit back-to-back threes and Willis followed with another to spark a 9-2 run for the Cardinals (9-21, 6-13 SLC). Freshman center Marcus Larsson hit four consecutive free throws and Willis hit two more threes to cap off a 14-4 run, giving UIW its first lead of the game. 23-22. Houston Baptist bounced back with a 14-3 run of its own to close the half, taking a 38-28 lead into the break.

The Huskies got off to another strong start to open the half, outscoring the Cardinals 11-5 entering the under-16 media timeout. Lutz scored five straight points and Larsson hit a layup to bring the Cardinals to within 11, but the Huskies again responded with an 8-2 run to create some separation. Willis scored six out of UIW's next eight points to keep the Cardinals in the game, but a 12-4 run by HBU extended the Huskies' lead to 73-54 at the under-8 media timeout. The Cardinals clawed back with a 13-5 run to make it 82-71 with a minute-and-a-half left, but the Huskies held on for the 88-76 victory. 

UIW hosts Abilene Christian on Senior Day at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at the McDermott Center in the last game of the season.

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