LAKE CHARLES – McNeese will face its second straight Mid-American Conference opponent on Monday at 7 in Burton Coliseum and perhaps its toughest test to date when the Chippewas of Central Michigan invade "The Burt."
 
The Cowboys (5-4) are coming off a hard fought 83-69 loss to Toledo on Saturday in a game where they matched the Rockets with speed and athleticism but couldn't hold up in the depth department.
 
CMU won for the third straight time on Friday after a 97-60 win over Concordia to improve to 8-1. Central Michigan is beating their opponents by an average score of 85-60 and have beaten teams like Southern Illinois and the Big Ten Conference's Northwestern. The only loss was an 84-73 setback at Bradley on Dec. 2.
 
"Probably the best shooting team we will see so far this year," said McNeese head coach Dave Simmons about CMU. "They can all shoot the ball really well."
 
Three of CMU's starting five players, which feature three juniors, a sophomore, and a freshman, are making 50 percent or more from the field while. As a team, the Chippewas are sinking 49.6 percent of their shots on the season, 16^th-best in the country.
 
CMU is also a threat from long range where it ranks No. 5 in the nation with 11.2 three-pointers made per game while individuall, junior forward John Simons, who is third on the team with 10.9 points per game, is 14^th in the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage at 50 percent (23-46). As a team, CMU is knocking down 42 percent from long range (101-241).
 
Junior guard Chris Fowler leads the team in scoring with a 13.2 average while sophomore guard Braylon Rayson is scoring at a 12.0 clip.
 
CMU's roster features four players at 6-foo-8 or taller and one, sophomore center Milos Cabarkapa, who stands at 7-foot.
 
The Cowboys will be looking to get back on the winning track after Saturday's loss.
 
Desharick Guidry tied a school record in that game after he posted his eight consecutive double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He'll be going for the record on Monday that was set by David Lawrence in the 1978-79 season.
 
Guidry, who tops the team with a 17.4 scoring average, is one of three Cowboys that will go into the game averaging double-digits. He's also averaging 12.3 rebounds, which is tops in the league and No. 2 in the nation. Guidry is 26 points away from 1,000 and three rebounds from 700.
 
Kevin Hardy, who is coming off a 20-point game on Saturday, is second on the team with 11.2 points and is tops with 3.1 steals. He's 24 swipes away from becoming the school's all-time leader in that category and needs three assists to pass Tierre Brown for third all-time.
 
Keelan Garrett, who leads the team with 17 three-point goals made, is averaging 10.2 points a game. Garrett has come on strong lately from long range. After making just 6 of 30 through the first five games, he's connected on 11 of 24 in the last five.
 
Monday will be the first-ever meeting between McNeese and CMU. The Cowboys will make a return trip to the north next season.