SAN ANTONIO --- Houston Christian University dropped a Saturday decision to longtime rival University of the Incarnate Word, falling 73-56 at the McDermott Convocation Center. The Cardinals used a big run just out of the gates to break away from a four-point game, and the Huskies went cold offensively over the second twenty minutes to prevent a comeback.
 
The tempo was fast from the opening tip. UIW grabbed an early 10-5 lead behind five points apiece from Davion Bailey and Tahj Staveskie before a three-pointer from Demari Williams cut the lead to 10-8. Out of the first media, it was Bailey again, getting fouled on a three-ball and converting the free-throw for a four-point play, as the Cardinals doubled things upat 16-8 with 14:49 to play in the first half.
 
Bailey stayed hot. After a pair of free throws by Trent Johnson, Bailey would connect again from long range and then on a mid-range to give UIW its first double-digit lead at 21-10. Back-to-back layups from Kylin Green would cut the deficit to nine, 23-14 as the game hit the under-12 media.
 
Tahj Staveskie nailed a triple to push the margin to 11 for the hosts, 30-19. but that's when HCU made their move. The Huskies would hold the Cardinals to just two points over the next six minutes, and conversely outscored the hosts 13-2 over that stretch. Demari Williams went to the rack on two straight possessions to cut the lead to seven, 30-23 and force a quick Incarnate Word timeout at the 6:25 mark. Demarco Bethea split a pair of charity shots to follow yet another Williams bucket, as the Huskies crept within four with 3:51 to go, 32-28.
   
The personal onslaught from Williams continued, as he converted again on the break after a turnover, and Kylin Green got things back to where they started, scoring on a tough move in the paint to knot things at 32 with 1:29 to go in the first frame. Harold Woods stopped the bleeding for the Cardinals, scoring two straight buckets to grab a 36-32 lead at the intermission.
 
Jordan Pyke sored to open the second half and push the lead for UIW to six, but after Bethea hit the first free throw, Williams grabbed his second shot miss and muscled his way up through traffic to cut the lead in half. Williams then scored in the paint again seconds later to cut the HCU deficit to one.
 
The Huskies then saw a lid placed on the basket, as UIW began to stretch things out. Bailey then sandwiched a three and mid-range around a Staveskie score, pushing UIW's lead to eight with just over four minutes gone in the second stanza. The burst continued as a Woods steal and score gave the Cardinals their double-figure lead once again.
 
A floater in the lane by Ryan Bartley stopped the bleeding temporarily for the Huskies and Bethea scored inside after a turnover to get HCU back to within eight, 49-41. A stepback three from Staveskie was chased by a deep ball by Bailey that finished off a 17-4 run as UIW took a 55-41 lead with 13:34 to go.
 
Down 17 at the second-half midway point, the Huskies tried to mount one more rally. Trent Johnson finally broke the ice for the Huskies with a three from the corner, and moments later a nice lead from Kylin Green found a streaking Mambourou Mara for a two-handed flush to cut the lead to a dozen, 63-51 with 6:57 left. That would be as close as the Huskies would get however as an ensuing three-minute scoreless stretch did in any chance to continue the comeback.
 
The Huskies shot just 38% for the evening, 31% in the second half. Conversely, the host Cardinals shot 52% in the second half to finish the game at 45% while committing just eight turnovers. The up-and-down affair saw just 23 free throws and nine bench points combined by the two teams, and UIW broke away from a four-point lead by outscoring the Huskies by 13 in the second half.
 
Demari Williams broke his career-high for the second straight, notching his first-ever 20-piece with 22 points. Williams went 10-15 from the field and tied a career-best going 2-4 from the arc while adding a team-high six rebounds. He was the lone HCU player in double-digits, as the rest of the team went just 13-45 from the floor and 2-12 from distance. Kylin Green had eight points, five boards and four assists, while Trent Johnson and Demarco Bethea each chipped in eight points as well.
 
UIW (8-6 | 3-2 SLC) has now won three straight, and was led Tahj Staveskie, who went for 27 points on 10-17 shooting from the floor and 4-8 from the arc. He also added three boards, two assists, two blocks and two steals. The Southland's leading scorer Davion Bailey added 26 points on 4-13 from distance, while Harold Woods chipped in nine points and eight boards. Jordan Pyke scored just six points but pulled down a game-high 10 boards.
 
Houston Christian University drops to 5-9 overall and 1-4 in conference action. HCU will look to right the ship when it returns home on Monday night to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Southland Conference action. Tip-off from Sharp Gymnasium is scheduled for 7 pm.
 
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