Panther’s Toothsayer: Incarnate Word Cardinals
Saturday, November 22
Event: Boardwalk Battle Championship
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Series & Setting
High Point meets Incarnate Word for the first time, and the inaugural matchup comes with a championship on the line.
The Panthers enter the Boardwalk Battle finale at 5–1 after grinding out a physical victory over UIC. A win would stabilize High Point’s non-conference momentum and add another trophy to the program’s collection.
It would also mark the Panthers’ first multi-team event bracket championship since winning the SoCal Challenge in 2022.
For Incarnate Word, this represents a major early-season test and a potential turning point.
The Cardinals earned their first Division I victory of the season earlier in Daytona with a narrow win over Southern Indiana. Their schedule has otherwise been feast or famine. UIW handled its lower-division opponents, was blown out by Colorado State, and then nearly stunned Indiana in Bloomington.
The Cardinals ultimately fell 69–61, but they controlled significant portions of the game and showed they are capable of competing well above their projected level.
After facing either Top-50 opponents or teams ranked outside the Top 300, UIW now gets an opponent in the proverbial Goldilocks zone.
High Point sits around the mid-80s nationally in KenPom, is coming off consecutive conference championships, and represents exactly the type of program third-year head coach Shane Heirman wants his Cardinals measured against.
There is also an intriguing coaching connection.
Heirman previously worked directly under former High Point head coach Alan Huss at La Lumiere. He eventually replaced Huss and led the program to a national championship in 2017.
That means the Boardwalk Battle final is not merely a matchup between two rising mid-major programs. It is also a showdown between two branches of the Huss Bus coaching tree.
Overview
Incarnate Word is built around two high-usage perimeter creators supported by rugged, high-motor role players.
The Cardinals play at a fast pace and lean heavily on ball screens, dribble penetration, and the shot creation of:
- Tahj Staveskie, a high-usage lead guard with excellent efficiency
- Davion Bailey, one of the highest-volume three-point shooters in Division I
Those two players account for nearly half of UIW’s total shot attempts and dictate almost everything the Cardinals do offensively.
Despite possessing two proven scorers, Incarnate Word’s efficiency can swing dramatically from game to game.
The Cardinals tend to struggle when turnovers increase and their spacing becomes stagnant. They rank around 220th nationally in ball security, and mistakes can quickly snowball into extended scoring droughts.
UIW’s defense currently grades better than its offense, though that balance may change as the season progresses. Heirman’s teams have historically been much more dependable offensively than defensively.
High Point, meanwhile, has found several different paths to victory despite inconsistent perimeter shooting.
The Panthers currently rank:
- Top 70 nationally in tempo
- Top 65 in effective field-goal percentage
- Among the nation’s best teams finishing inside the arc
High Point is shooting 59.7% on two-point attempts but just 34.6% from three.
The Panthers have yet to put together a complete offensive performance, which makes their 5–1 start even more encouraging.
Team Identity: Creators, Crashers & Chaos
Creators
Staveskie and Bailey combine to take nearly half of UIW’s shots.
The offense revolves around their ball-screen creation, pull-up shooting, and ability to pressure the rim. When both guards are comfortable, Incarnate Word can score with almost anyone.
When one or both are forced into difficult attempts, the entire offense becomes considerably easier to contain.
Crashers
Incarnate Word attacks the offensive glass aggressively.
Marcus Glover, Jayden Williams, and Jordan Pyke provide length, physicality, and constant activity around the basket.
The Cardinals’ offensive rebounding directly targets one of High Point’s most persistent weaknesses.
Chaos
Defensively, UIW mixes coverages and attempts to make opponents uncomfortable.
The Cardinals will use drop coverage, aggressive hedges, switching, and occasional zone possessions. They force turnovers on approximately 18.5% of defensive possessions.
That aggression comes with a cost.
UIW fouls frequently and ranks around 309th nationally in defensive free-throw rate allowed.
Key Cardinals
- #2 Tahj Staveskie (Sr., 6’1″, G) — UIW’s offensive engine. Staveskie combines a massive 26.8% usage rate with a strong 127.0 offensive rating. He is the Cardinals’ best guard at getting two feet into the paint and has posted a 59.8% true-shooting percentage.
- #5 Davion Bailey (Gr., 6’4″, G) — One of the most aggressive perimeter shooters in college basketball. Bailey ranked among the nation’s Top Five in both three-point attempts and makes last season. He can shoot off the catch, movement, or dribble and must be located immediately in transition.
- #7 Jordan Pyke (Jr., 6’7″, F) — Physical interior defender with a 7.6% block rate. Pyke is active on the glass and finishes effectively around the rim.
- #10 Harold Woods (Sr., 6’5″, F) — A dependable glue player who cuts, defends, and finishes in the paint without demanding many touches.
- #8 Marcus Glover and #4 Jayden Williams — High-motor frontcourt players who generate second-chance opportunities. Neither offers much perimeter spacing or independent shot creation.
Tempo-Free Snapshot
High Point Panthers
| Category | Stat |
|---|---|
| Record | 5–1 |
| Adjusted Offensive Efficiency | 116.5 |
| Adjusted Defensive Efficiency | 106.0 |
| Effective Field-Goal Percentage | 56.5% |
| Three-Point Percentage | 34.6% |
| Two-Point Percentage | 59.7% |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 74.0% |
| Adjusted Tempo | 72.4 — Top 70 nationally |
High Point Strengths
- Balanced scoring from Rob Martin, Cam Fletcher, Conrad Martinez, and Terry Anderson
- Elite finishing at the rim
- Turnover-resistant offense with an approximately 11.7% turnover rate
- Flexible and productive lineup combinations
- Dangerous transition attack
High Point Questions
- Streaky perimeter shooting, including a 44-for-127 start from three
- Rebounding consistency
- Late-clock execution against switching defenses
Incarnate Word Cardinals
| Category | Stat |
|---|---|
| Record | 3–2 |
| Adjusted Offensive Efficiency | 109.5 |
| Adjusted Defensive Efficiency | 111.9 |
| Effective Field-Goal Percentage | 48.9% |
| Three-Point Percentage | 31.6% |
| Two-Point Percentage | 49.6% |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 64.4% |
| Adjusted Tempo | 69.2 — Top 150 nationally |
Incarnate Word Strengths
- Two legitimate 15-to-17-point scorers
- Hard-driving guards and physical finishers
- Interior deterrence from Pyke and Glover
- Good size and length across the bench
Incarnate Word Weaknesses
- One of the poorest free-throw shooting teams nationally
- Turnovers can quickly become extended scoring droughts
- Extremely foul-prone defense
- Several bottom-30 defensive rebounding performances
Coaching Breakdown: Shane Heirman
Shane Heirman is a former Alan Huss protégé who worked with him at La Lumiere before eventually taking over the program.
Heirman led La Lumiere to a national high school championship and has carried many of the same modern offensive principles into the college game.
He is now in his third season at Incarnate Word after leading the Cardinals to a historic 19–17 campaign and a CBI semifinal appearance.
Offensively, Heirman favors spacing, ball-screen creation, and freedom for his primary guards.
Defensively, his teams are aggressive, physical, and willing to accept risk in exchange for disruption.
Against High Point, expect:
- Heavy ball-screen usage for Staveskie and Bailey
- Clear driving lanes for secondary creators
- Occasional 1–3–1 zone possessions
- High-wall or aggressive man-to-man coverages
- Repeated attempts to pull High Point’s big men away from the basket
Matchup Outlook vs. High Point
Pace Battle
Both teams want to run, though they do so for different reasons.
High Point uses pace to maximize its depth and create efficient scoring opportunities before defenses are organized.
Incarnate Word uses pace to disguise its half-court inconsistency and create more opportunities for Staveskie and Bailey.
Over 40 minutes, High Point’s superior depth and decision-making should allow the Panthers to dictate the tempo more consistently.
High Point’s Interior Advantage
Cam Fletcher, Terry Anderson, and Owen Aquino give High Point a combination of size, rim protection, and offensive versatility that UIW will struggle to match.
The Panthers should attack mismatches, establish paint touches, and force the Cardinals’ frontcourt to defend multiple actions within the same possession.
High Point’s Perimeter Attack vs. UIW’s Defense
Incarnate Word fouls frequently on drives and is prone to excessive hand-checking.
High Point should attack the basket early and often. A combined 12 or more free-throw attempts from Fletcher, Martin, and Martinez is a realistic target.
If UIW reaches the bonus early, the Panthers can generate efficient offense without relying entirely on perimeter shooting.
Incarnate Word’s Offensive Reliance
The Cardinals become far easier to guard when Staveskie and Bailey are forced into contested pull-ups.
High Point does not need to completely remove them from the game. The goal is to deny clean rhythm attempts and make both guards work deep into possessions.
If the Panthers contain those two without overhelping, UIW’s secondary creators will be forced into larger roles than they are accustomed to handling.
The Daytona Nudge
High Point operates like a team with multiple engines.
Incarnate Word is closer to a two-cylinder machine powered primarily by Staveskie and Bailey.
In a race that extends into the late laps, depth tends to win in Daytona.
Keys for High Point
- Control Staveskie’s rhythm. Mix coverages and deny clean pull-up opportunities.
- Attack the paint early. UIW fouls constantly, so High Point should aim to reach the bonus by the under-12 timeout.
- Punish turnovers with pace. Turn live-ball mistakes into layups and rhythm threes before the defense can reset.
- Dominate the glass. Incarnate Word’s offensive rebounding attacks High Point’s most significant weakness.
- Let the depth take over. The final 16 minutes have favored High Point in nearly every game this season.
Toothsayer’s Take
Incarnate Word possesses two legitimate scorers and enough length to make this competitive for extended stretches.
The Cardinals’ offensive rebounding directly targets High Point’s biggest weakness, and that alone could keep UIW within striking distance deep into the second half.
However, their reliance on difficult shot-making, tendency to turn the ball over, and constant fouling create difficult matchup problems against High Point’s tempo, depth, and physicality.
The Panthers have more ways to create offense and more defenders capable of applying pressure to Staveskie and Bailey.
If High Point converts at the free-throw line and survives the rebounding battle, its depth and versatility should become decisive late.
The Panthers take control during the second half, build separation over the final few minutes, and leave Daytona with the Boardwalk Battle championship.
Prediction
High Point 89, Incarnate Word 83
Projected Tournament MVP
Cam Fletcher