SAN ANTONIO -- Houston Christian University took a six-point lead late, but a 13-3 closing burst by the University of the Incarnate Word gave the host Cardinals a 79-75 win in the McDermott Convocation Center on Saturday evening. HCU led 72-66 with three to play, but couldn't hold on as its two-game winning streak was snapped.
HCU started the game quickly, scoring six of the first eight points of the game, starting with a
Bonke Maring post bucket and highlighted by a swipe on one end and a finish on the other by
Marcus Greene.
Dominic Capriotti's three-ball would give HCU an 11-6 lead moments later.
UIW would slowly creep back into things. Two free throws from Alex Anderson and a drive and dunk by Sky Wicks pulled the Cardinals to within two,16-14.
Jay Alvarez hit a pair from the stripe to stop the spurt momentarily, but back-to-back scores by Marcus Glover and Dylan Hayman knotted the game at 18 at the under-12 media.
Jay Alvarez would come back with a runner and a split of a pair of charity shots to give HCU the lead 21-18, but UIW again stormed back. Shon Robinson's offensive putback capped a 7-0 spurt before
Bonke Maring ended the run with a jump hook on the right block, and a goaltending call on
Pierce Bazil's drive would tie the score at 25 with 7:20 to play. Alvarez would hit on a conventional three-point play to give HCU the lead again, 28-27 at the 6:08 mark.
UIW then scored six in a row as the Huskies went scoreless for the next four minutes.
Marcus Greene would break the drought with a three from the top of the key to pull HCU within two with 2:02 to play in the first half. Shon Robinson would split a pair of free-throws twice and Josh Morgan's layup pushed UIW back up six with 32.9 to go in the first half. The Cardinals would take the 37-31 lead to the break.
After an opening bucket for UIW, the Huskies would get two straight buckets by
Michael Imariagbe in the paint. That was followed by a corner triple from Capriotti off a drift pass from Maring that forced a UIW timeout.
Jay Alvarez then scored on a scoop in the lane out of that break to give HCU the lead, 40-39. Moments later, it was Imariagbe again with a baseline hammer off a feed from
Marcus Greene, giving HCU the 46-45 lead and capping a 15-8 run.
After a couple of traded possessions,
Marcus Greene hit a three-ball from the top of the key and
Bonke Maring followed seconds later with a left-handed finish in the lane for a three-point lead with 11:45 to play. HCU would then follow that up with a couple of free throws from Alvarez out of the media that extended the lead to five. Josh Morgan and
Marcus Greene would then trade three-pointers twice, and a triple that beat the shot clock by Sky Wicks was followed by an offensive putback from Dylan Hayman that would square things up at the under-eight media timeout, 63-all.
Bonke Maring would score in the paint to tie the game at 65 with 6:09 to play. UIW took a one-point lead on a free throw from Devante Dennis, but on the ensuing possession, Alvarez hit Capriotti in the corner for a three that gave HCU the lead once more, 68-66. Maring would chase that with another bucket in the paint, pushing the margin to four, 70-66 as the final media horn sounded with 3:29 to go.
An offensive putback from Capriotti pushed HCU up six, but Josiah Hammons nailed a triple from the right wing to cut the lead in half. After a score from Alex Anderson, Hammons hit again from the left wing, giving UIW at two-point lead, 74-72 with 1:06 to go. Sky Wicks would hit both ends of a one-and-one to push the lead to four with 42 seconds left. The Cardinals would end the contest on a 13-3 run.
The two teams ended the game shooting an identical 30-67 from the floor for 44.8%. The Cardinals hit one more three-pointer and three more free throws for the difference in the game. HCU outrebounded UIW 40-39 and UIW won the bench battle 23-2.
HCU was had five players in double-digits, led by
Jay Alvarez with 21.
Bonke Maring had 16 points and eight rebounds, while
Marcus Greene finished with 14 points and five rebounds. Greene and Capriotti each hit three from deep, with Capriotti ending with 11 points.
Michael Imariagbe posted his third straight double-double and eighth of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Sky Wicks led the Cardinals (6-13, 1-5 SLC) with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Alex Anderson registered 16 points while Josiah Hammons went 4-13 from deep to finish with 13 points. Dylan Hayman had eight points and 10 caroms, five on the offensive end.
HCU is now 5-13 overall and 3-4 in conference play. The Huskies will return home on Monday night to host Southeastern Louisiana. Tip-off in Sharp Gym is slated for 7pm.
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