LAKE CHARLES — Zach Scott hit the game-winning three to lift the McNeese Cowboys to a 78-75 victory over the Houston Baptist Huskies on Saturday night inside the Legacy Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
McNeese jumped out to a 11-3 lead as Zach Scott scored nine of the Cowboys first 11 points. HBU would fight back and after a pair of Sam Hofman free throws, the Cowboys’ lead had been trimmed down to a mere three points.
After a Jade Tse free throw, McNeese’s lead was down to one point but the Cowboys answered, and once again it was Scott with a corner three-pointer which sparked a 10-3 run.
The two teams kept things tight the rest of the first half but the Cowboys held a 39-37 lead.
HBU tied it up early in the second half with a three-pointer by Darius Lee and then again with a jumper by Tse. The Cowboys would answer with a bucket or two but the Huskies never went away. HBU then took the lead with a layup by Khristion Courseault. With less then nine minutes to go, the Huskies held a two-point lead.
McNeese reclaimed the lead as Scott and Collin Warren drained back-to-back three pointers which sparked a 12-2 run for the Cowboys.
HBU fought back and after Hofman made one of two free throws, McNeese’s lead was 73-71 with 1:07 left in the game.
McNeese’s Kellon Taylor made a layup but HBU’s Darius Lee hit a short jumper. With 25.4 seconds left, the Cowboys had the ball and a 75-73 lead.
HBU tied the game on a layup by Lee and there was only nine seconds left on the game clock. McNeese’s Taylor drove the ball up the court and then dished it to Scott. After one pump fake and a step dribble to the left, Scott shot a three-pointer over Brycen Long and it found the bottom of the net.
HBU’s desperation heave went out of bounds and McNeese celebrated the victory.
BIG NUMBER: 689
It had been 689 days since the McNeese men’s basketball team had last played a game inside the Legacy Center. Hurricane Laura damaged the venue and the Cowboys had been forced to play last season and half of this season at the program’s former home Burton Coliseum.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: ZACH SCOTT & COLLIN WARREN
Scott gave the Cowboys a spark right off the bat as she scored nine of McNeese’s first 11 points. Scott ended the game with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 5-of-7 from three-point range. Warren meanwhile came off the bench to lead the team with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
UP NEXT: McNeese (7-11, 1-0 SLC) returns to the hardwood at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.