CONWAY, Ark. _ Senior guard Denzel Livingston scored 31 points to lead the Incarnate Word Cardinals to a 77-67 victory over the University of Central Arkansas Bears on Friday night at the Farris Center.

    Livingston, the leading scorer in the Southland Conference, was 10 of 20 from the field and 10 of 10 from the free-throw line to lead all scorers. The Bears (1-21, 1-10) got 17 points from freshman Jordan Howard and 15 from junior guard Mike Martin but could not overcome 37-percent shooting in the first half, which put them in a hole at halftime.

    "He's (Livingston) is an outstanding player,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "I wasn't really happy with our awareness in guarding him. I think the guys that were on him actually did a pretty good job. But gosh, our lack of help and understanding. That's what I told the guys... for us to get better, we have to become more of a intelligent, IQ basketball team.

    "There's always a guy or two on the floor that's going to hurt you. So I would almost understand more if all five of us went and guarded him. But what happened was, he would get these one-on-one matchups and we wouldn't give enough help until he was already at the basket. And he's just too good of a player to let get in the paint.'

    The Bears started well, leading 12-3 after a three-pointer from Martin at the 15:00 mark. UCA held the lead until UIW's Kyle Hittle nailed a three-pointer with 6:54 left in the half, good enough for a 25-23 lead. The Cardinals held the lead the rest of the way, taking a 36-30 lead to the locker room.

    The Cardinals pushed their lead to as muich as 12 points in the second half but the Bears fought back each time, cutting the deficit to just six points at 71-65 with 2:42 to play, and again at 73-67  at the 52-second mark. But UIW made four free throws in the final 36 seconds to seal it.

    Kyle Hittle, the No. 2 three-point shooter in the conference, made 3 of 9 and finished with 17 points for the Cardinals, while Traylin Farris added 16. UIW shot 50 percent from the field for the game and made 18 of 23 at the line.

        "Livingston and Hittle are the two guys,' said Pennell, "and if you look at the stats, that's what it was. They didn't do anything that we haven't seen. They just have good, seasoned players that play really well together. Their coach (Ken Burmeister) used to work for Lute Olson (at Arizona). We share that in common.

    "Their offense is a lot like Arizona used to run. It's kind of an isolation, let your players make plays. Nothing complicated about it, but they do it extremely well. Those guys play together about as good as any team I've seen this year.'
    
    UCA shot 38.1 percent (8 of 21) from three-point range, despite going 3 of 11 in the opening 20 minutes. UCA was also 15 of 18 (83.3) percent from the free-throw line and had just nine turnovers.

    The Bears return to the road on Monday to take on Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La. The Demons outlasted the Bears 110-108 at the Farris Center on Feb. 3. Game time is 6:30 p.m.