LAKE CHARLES — The McNeese Cowboys wrapped up a perfect regular season inside the Legacy Center with a 87-69 victory over Houston Christian University Huskies on Monday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Houston Christian scored first with a quick layup by Bonke Maring but McNeese responded with a Shahada Wells three-pointer followed by a Javohn Garcia three-pointer.
HCU retook the lead with a Jay Alvarez jumper and then a Marcus Green three-pointer. McNeese took the lead right back as Wells drained his second three-pointer.
The Huskies answered with a 7-0 run to take a 15-9 lead and kept its lead for a few minutes. With 10:02, HCU led McNeese 20-18 but the Cowboys went on a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead.
The two teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the first half but McNeese went into the half with a 39-36 lead after DJ Richards hit a three-pointer.
McNeese seized control to start the second half with a 13-5 run where Garcia shined.
The Cowboys guard began the run with a layup and capped it with a three-pointer, then quickly stole the ball and made a layup which forced the Huskies to call a timeout. With 15:30 left in the second half, McNeese had built up a 52-41 lead.
The Cowboys kept their foot on the gas pedal and pushed their lead to 20 points after Wells hit a three-pointer with 7:32 left int he second half.
BIG NUMBER: 16
With Monday’s victory over HCU, McNeese finished the 2023-24 regular season winning all 16 games that the Cowboys hosted inside the Legacy Center.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: SHAHADA WELLS & DJ RICHARDS
Wells set the tone early during Senior Night as he scored 13 of his team-high 24 points in the first half for the Cowboys. Richards meanwhile helped give McNeese a spark in the second half and scored 16 of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes.
UP NEXT: McNeese (27-3, 16-1 Southland Conference) will wrap up the regular season on Wednesday on the road at UNO. Tip is set for 7 p.m.