The WTAMU Buffalo basketball team hosted the Incarnate Word Cardinals on Jan. 26. The Buffs played sluggishly and never got their shot going in the 63-53 loss. WT is now 12-6 overall and 6-5 in Lone Star Conference play.

The Buffs seemed inspired early when senior Courtney Carr slammed down a dunk to give WT an early 6-2 lead. WT quickly slowed down, making just four of 15 shots from the field at the 7:36 mark of the first half. The Buffs had a chance to take a lead into halftime, but senior Lionel Foster missed a three point shot with 00.3 seconds on the clock giving UIW a 28-26 advantage at the break.

Junior Kennon Washington led the Buffs with seven points at halftime. Junior Donald Sims followed with six and Foster had five points and four assists. WT shot nine of 23 from the field for 39 percent and got outscored 26-12 in the paint.The Buffs showed signs of life early in the second when Carr got blocks on back-to-back Cardinal shots. UIW still managed to outscore WT 10-5 at the 15:40 mark in the second half. The Buffs continued to fight as Washington hit a three-pointer to pull WT to a 55-46 deficit. The Buffs were unable to put together a late run as the Cardinals were able to hold on for the win.

“Clearly they looked like they wanted it more,” Head Coach Rick Cooper said.

Foster led the Buffs offensively with 18 points and seven assists. Sims had 13 points and Carr and Washington finished with 10 points each. WT shot 17 of 40 from the field for 42.5 percent and three of 12 from three-point land for 25 percent.

The Cardinals’ bench dominated WT’s, outscoring them 34-5. UIW also dominated the paint outscoring the Buffs 42-22.

“They got to the paint any time they wanted,” said Cooper.