Box Score 
SAN ANTONIO – John Jordan scored 17 points to go along with eight assists and five rebounds, but Incarnate Word used a late push to knock off the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team 74-68 at the McDemott Center on Saturday. Denzel Livingston led four players in double figures for the Cardinals.
Rashawn Thomas scored 15 points despite being limited by foul trouble throughout the game, and Bryce Douvier added 11 in a losing effort for the Islanders (14-12, 9-5 Southland). UIW (16-7, 8-5) got 16 points each from Kyle Hittle and Traylin Farris, while Shawn Johnson added 15.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi came out strong on the defensive end, holding Incarnate Word without a field goal for the game's first 4:46, as the Cardinals went 0-for-2 with three turnovers. On the offensive side, Thomas provided the spark with the first four points of the game, but was quickly whistled for a pair of fouls and had to head to the bench. The Islanders pushed the lead to 8-2 on a Jordan jumper at 16:14.
But the Cardinals came right back and scored the next seven points, gaining a 9-8 lead after a steal and dunk by Farris at the 14:07 mark. Brandon Pye snapped the string with a jumper at the 13:48 mark, and the teams battled back-and-forth to a 16-16 score. UIW then was able to run off the next seven points, four on dunks, to garner a game-high seven point lead at 23-16.
The Islanders then got a response from their bench, as Dale Francis drilled back-to-back threes to cut the lead to just one. After a Farris layup, the Islanders ran off the next four points, making it a 10-2 run, to garner a 26-25 lead on a Pye jumper. But UIW finished the half strong, getting stops on the defensive end and turning it into points for a 29-26 lead heading to the locker room.
Out of the locker room, Douvier started the scoring with a layup and that commenced a back-and-forth that saw the score teeter from one team to the other in the lead. With the Islanders ahead 37-36 after a Jordan jumper at the 14:28 mark, Livingston and Johnson drained threes in rapid succession, and the Cardinals took a 42-37 lead. The Islanders came right back with a 6-0 run of their own, though, capped by a terrific drive to the basket and dunk by Douvier that made it 43-42.
Jontrell Walker came back with an answer, converting a three-point play, and a Hittle three to follow made it a 47-43 UIW lead. Again, though, it was Douvier with the response, as he drilled a three with the shot clock winding down. Thomas then went to the line and hit the first, and Douvier snagged the rebound of his second shot, putting it back for a 49-47 Islanders lead. A&M-Corpus Christi would push the edge to 51-47.
Again, the Cardinals went to the perimeter to stage their rally. Johnson drilled a pair of threes around a Walker block to give the home squad a 53-51 lead, but a Douvier layup tied the score once again. At that juncture, UIW got a three-point play from Livingston, and the senior went on a 7-0 run on his own to give the home squad a lead it would not relinquish. The Islanders got it as close as four in the closing minutes, but the Cardinals were able to close out the game at the line to come away with the victory.
The Islanders will continue their final road swing of the season on Tuesday, when they face off with Abilene Christian at 7 p.m. in Moody Coliseum. Yannis Koutroupis will have the call of the game on NewsRadio 1360 KKTX.
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