Down by 11 points with 1:28 to play, Incarnate Word made an improbable comeback, led by Dionelle Rucker, to tie the game and force overtime, where the Cardinals then finished the job and knocked off Texas A&M-Kingsville 80-75 for a stunning victory.

Rucker scored 36 points, including 10 straight points in 36 seconds. Teammate Denzel Livingston buried a game-tying 3-pionter in the final seconds of regulation. In overtime, UIW outscored the Javelinas 15-10 to keep its season alive.

The win moved the Cardinals into the semifinal round Saturday night (8:30 p.m.) to face No. 1 seed Midwestern State, a team that beat Incarnate Word twice in the regular-season.

But UIW showed enough fight down the stretch to improve to 14-13. The season ends for the Javelinas with a 13-13 record.

Kingsville led throughout the game, holding a 33-25 halftime edge and led by as much as 15. The game tightened when Rucker hit a jumper to pull the Cardinals within five points at 55-50 with 3:08 to play.
But that’s when Kingsville rallied back as Reid Wallace and Dwight Taylor hit consecutive 3-pointers to push the lead up to 11. After a bucket by UIW’s Lyn’Dale Brown, the Javelinas appeared to put the game away with a monster dunk by Adonis Bailey to give Kingsville an 11-point edge.

But that’s when Rucker completely took over. He converted a tip-in basket, then stole the inbounds pass and converted a layup and foul, giving him five points in four seconds. After a missed shot for Kingsville Rucker had a layup, and then another three-point play following missed free throws by the Javelinas.

With the lead only 1, Kingsville made two free throws to push the lead to 3 before Livingston canned an open 3-pointer from the right corner with 10 seconds to play. UIW’s Anthony Horton blocked a final shot by the Javelinas to force overtime.

The game was tied with 1:20 to play but despite Rucker fouling out, the Javelinas converted seven free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.

Rucker’s 36 points was the eighth-highest single-game output in the LSC Championship history. Rucker, who had only 10 points at the half, became the eighth player in Incarnate Word school history to reach 500 points in a season.
 
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Incarnate Word Notes

• This was Incarnate Word’s first-ever victory in the LSC tournament as the Cardinals are making just their second, and final, appearance. Ironically, last year’s appearance also resulted in an overtime game, falling to Cameron 77-68 in the quarterfinals here in Allen.
• Incarnate Word trailed by as many as 15 in the first half and 12 in the second before rallying to defeat A&M-Kingsville for the third time this season. The 34.7 percent field goal percentage was the second-lowest of the season for the Cardinals, just better than the 34.4 percent shooting against St. Edward’s.
• This was the first overtime game for Incarnate Word this season as their last overtime game was in last  year’s LSC quarterfinals, a 77-68 defeat to Cameron. The Cardinals’ last overtime victory was also against the Aggies, a 68-65 decision in San Antonio in 2011-12.
• Incarnate Word’s first lead came at 2-0 at the 19:35 mark.  It did not retake the lead until a three-pointer in overtime, taking a 70-67 advantage with 3:16 remaining.
• Dionelle Rucker finished with a career-best 36 points, including 26 in both the second half and overtime periods to help spark the Cardinal comeback. It is tied for the eighth-highest point total in an LSC tournament game.
• Rucker also set a season high in rebounds with 13 as well as hitting 14 of his 19 free throw attempts, which were also season-bests.
• Lyn’Dale Brown notched his first double-double of the season, setting season-bests in both points (24) and rebounds (18).
• Mitchell Badillo finished with 6 assists on the night, moving him past the century mark and giving him 102 for the 2012-13 season.

 
Texas A&M-Kingsville Notes

• Texas A&M-Kingsville lost an 11-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation and lost in overtime to drop its third straight LSC Post-Season Tournament game.
• The Javelins only tournament win in five tournament appearances since the 2004-05 season was a 50-48 win over Texas A&M-Commerce.  Kingsville has lost five of its last six tournament games since that season.
• The Javelinas are 4-10 in LSC Post-Season Tournament play in nine tournament appearances under head coach Pete Peterson.