McNeese clinch No. 2 seed with victory
The Cowboys are heading back to primetime.
For the second time this season, McNeese State will host a Southland Conference game over the national airways.
Townsley Law Arena will host Saturday night’s showdown between the Cowboys and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which will be televised on ESPNU. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. It is the second of three times McNeese will play on linear television.
The Cowboys beat Lamar at home on Jan. 2 on the CBS Sports Network. They will complete the network for the regular-season finale at Nicholls on Monday, March 2.
“It is great for our fans and for our program to have this game televised,” said McNeese head coach Bill Armstrong. “It is always great to be at home.
The Cowboys rarely lose at home anymore. They have won 25 straight overall on Joe Dumar Court, 32 straight against Southland Conference teams. Over the last three seasons, they are 45-1 at home.
“We take pride in playing at home,” said Armstrong. “We hold court at home; that is our standard.”
McNeese will be looking for its sixth straight victory over the Islanders as they try to clinch second place and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming SLC Tournament, which the Cowboys will host in March. MSU is a win away from earning that spot and the double-bye to the semifinals.
The Cowboys (22-5, 15-3) are two games behind Stephen F. Austin in the chase for their third straight regular-season title with four games remaining. The fourth-place Islanders (14-13, 10-8) are trying to stay in third or fourth to earn a single bye.
“They are going to come in here ready to play hard and give us all they got,” said Armstrong. “They have a lot to play for. We want to finish 19-3 and see where we are.”
McNeese won the first meeting of the season, 69-53, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Larry Johnson led the way with 17 points for the Cowboys, while Carl Cherenfant and Tyshawn Archie added 13 each.
The Islanders were led by Sheldon Williams, who finished with 13 points as well. Mason Gibson, who averages just over 10 points a game for Corpus Christi, did not play in that first game because of an injury. He is back now with the Islanders.
McNeese is looking to continue its better shooting from long range at home. The Cowboys were hot last week, hitting 23-of-56 (41 percent) 3-point shots during a pair of road victories.
Archie, Javohn Garcia, and DJ Richards each had a game in which they hit 5 threes over the weekend. McNeese is 19-0 when they make above 25% from behind the arc, while just 3-5 when they don’t.
The Cowboys will conclude their regular-season home schedule on Monday when they host Texas-Rio Grande Valley, which defeated McNeese in their first meeting.