UIW beats Houston Baptist 83-71 as Shawn Johnson scores 28


UIW senior Shawn Johnson follows his own miss with a rebound and a 15-foot jumper in the second half against Houston Baptist.

Incarnate Word coach Ken Burmeister barked at guard Shawn Johnson during a timeout early in the first half Wednesday night.

In response, Johnson seemed to take it out on the Houston Baptist Huskies for the rest of the game.

The senior from New Orleans hit career highs with 28 points and 17 rebounds as UIW won its second straight, downing Houston Baptist, 83-71.

In what seemed like a highlight-a-minute first half, Johnson had two powerful dunks and a couple of blocked shots to keep the Cardinals close.

Trailing 41-37 at intermission, they played better team ball in the second half, shooting 51.6 percent from the field.

Asked after the game about the motivation for his burst of energy, Johnson grinned and said, “Coach started yelling.”

“I don’t know, something clicked, and I was like, ‘I got to go get some buckets for the team,’ ” he said. “That’s what really happened. I wanted it, so I went to go get it.”

Johnson’s 17 rebounds were his career best. His also had 28 points last year against Rice.

The game between in-state rivals in the Southland Conference unfolded before an announced 1,052 at UIW’s Convocation Center.

Both teams have been eliminated from contention for the SLC tournament.

Johnson will play his last college game Saturday when UIW hosts Abilene Christian at 3 p.m.

An engineering major, Johnson said he has one more semester of school remaining before he graduates next December.

“I’m proud that I made it through college,” he said. “It’s touching A lot of people wouldn’t be able to finish it, and it’s difficult, but I stuck with it and I’m glad I made it.

“I’m not down about it. I’m really just happy about it.”

Records

Incarnate Word 7-20, 2-15
Houston Baptist 6-24, 2-15

Coming up

Abilene Christian at Incarnate Word, 3 p.m. Saturday, regular-season finale


Incarnate Word forward Christian Peevy spins to the hoop for a basket in the first half Wednesday against Houston Baptist.