After taking down Texas A&M Corpus-Christi at home on Saturday, 70-54, the McNeese men’s basketball team welcomed in UT Rio Grande Valley for Senior Night. A slow start to the second half wasn’t enough to hold the Cowboys back as they defeated the Vaqueros 72-65 on Monday to improve to 24-5 on the season and 17-3 in Southland Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
McNeese jumped out to an early 6-3 as Garway Dual tossed an alley-oop to Jerrell Colbert on the opening possession. Larry Johnson also drove into the paint for a layup, and Tyshawn Archie knocked down a pair of free throws while Filip Brankovic hit a left-wing three.
The Pokes began to struggle shooting the ball. Through the first five minutes, McNeese went 3/10 from the floor and was 0/5 from three-point range. That allowed the Vaqueros to take a 10-8 advantage. Zae Blake scored twice for UT Rio Grande Valley, including a three-pointer to give his team the lead.
Tyshawn Archie was the main source of offense for the Cowboys, scoring nine of the team’s first 13 points, including scoring the first time from downtown. Beyond that, it took until the 7:49 mark of the first half for McNeese to score its next bucket when Johnson made another layup.
That bucket by Johnson was a part of an 11-2 run for the Pokes. The run also featured a midrange jumper by Dual and a wing three-pointer by DJ Richards Jr to push McNeese’s lead to 24-15. UT Rio Grande Valley cut down the lead to two with just four minutes to go in the half by breaking through the Cowboy press for a pair of layups by Koree Cotton, Brankovic, a dunk by Kwo Agwa, and a three-pointer by Cotton.
After that, McNeese closed out the first half by going on a 10-0 run. Johnson continued to score in the paint before Jacolb Fredson-Cole put up a fast break dunk that Archie assisted on and a pair of free throws. Dual also had a buzzer-beating putback layup to give the Cowboys the 34-22 advantage going into the break.
UT Rio Grande Valley didn’t mess around coming out of the locker room. In the first three minutes, the Vaqueros went on an 11-2 run to cut McNeese’s lead down to three. Jaylen Washington scored four points and found Marvin McGhee III for an open three.
The next eight minutes were back-and-forth, with the Pokes not being able to push their lead any further than five points. Johnson was responsible for eight of McNeese’s next 12 points, while Dane Christensen scored seven of UT Rio Grande Valley’s next 11 points. The Cowboys were ahead 48-44 with under nine minutes to play.
Brankovic and Blake combined to put up another six points for the Vaqueros before Richards Jr and Archie knocked down clutch threes within a minute of each other. Dual assisted on those plays and had fought for a loose ball that turned into a transition dunk. Washington put up a desperation shot on the following possession, and his prayer was answered with a tough shot from behind the arc.
In the closing minutes, McNeese held a multiple-possession lead and forced a couple of turnovers in the process. At the final, the Cowboys found themselves as 72-65 winners over the Vaqueros, improving their record to 24-5 and 17-3 in conference play.
BIG NUMBER: 1
Monday’s win was huge for the Pokes. It kept them in second place of the Southland Conference men’s standings and put them within one game of first after UNO took down Stephen F. Austin on the road.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Larry Johnson
The freshman phenom was the game’s leading scorer with 20 points on 8/17 shooting. Johnson also had eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals. He is also 38 points away from breaking Joe Dumars’ freshman scoring record with two games left in the regular season.
UP NEXT: The McNeese men’s basketball team will travel to the Big Easy to take on the UNO Privateers. Tipoff from the Lakefront Arena is scheduled for 5:00 PM on Saturday, February 28th.