NATCHITOCHES – Saturday will be a homecoming of sorts for McNeese head coach
Dave Simmons when he brings his Cowboys to the arena where he spent seven years as an assistant coach before taking over the reigns at McNeese when the Cowboys battle against Northwestern State in Southland Conference action.
Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. or 30 minutes following a women's game between the two teams that begins at 1. The game can be heard live on Cajun Radio (1470/1290 AM) or online at
www.cajunradio.com. Live video streaming will also be available on the McNeese sports website made possible by NSU.
The Cowboys (7-9, 1-4 SLC) snapped a four-game losing streak on Tuesday at home with a 63-56 win over Abilene Christian. Saturday's game will be the first of two straight road games and will be followed with a Monday night matchup at Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
"We keep getting better each game as a team," said Simmons. "These next two are going to be like track meets. They both like to run and score as much as possible."
The Demons (8-9, 3-3) are second in the league in scoring (82.8 ppg) while UIW is first with 86 points scored average.
The Cowboys will be going up against three of the top scorers in the league in the next two outings as well.
NSU guard Jalen West is third in the league in scoring (17.9) and first in assists (7.4), an average that ranks him fourth in the nation. West, however, isn't the only player that makes the Demons dangerous. Sophomore guard Zeek Woodley tops the team, league and is ranked third in the NCAA in scoring with a 22.4 average. Woodley has scored double-figures all 17 games this season and has knocked in 20 or more 13 times including a 24 point outing in an 88-76 loss at A&M-Corpus Christ in NSU's last outing.
"There's no argument that they are two of the better players in the league," said Simmons. "We know they're going to try to push the ball down the floor and score as much as possible. The key for us is to rebound and make our shots."
UIW's Denzel Livingston leads the Southland in scoring with a 23.3 average.
McNeese senior forward
Desharick Guidry has some nice numbers to brag about as well. Guidry tops the conference and is ranked third in the nation with 11.8 rebounds per game; is fourth in the NCAA and No. 1 in the SLC in both offensive boards per game (4.8) and double-doubles (12); and is fourth in the league in scoring with a 17.6 scoring average.
Guidry also has a chance to make history on Saturday. With one assist he can become the first player in school history to record 1,000 points, 700 rebounds, 100 steals and 100 assists in a career.
Kevin Hardy follows Guidry in scoring and rebounding with 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while topping the team and ranking second in the league with 2.4 steals per contest.
The senior guard is close to making history himself. With 194 career steals, he needs 13 swipes to pass Demond Mallet to become the school's all-time career steals leader.
Simmons coached at NSU from 2000-06 under still head coach Mike McConathy and helped the Demons make two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2006. The 2001 Demons knocked off the Cowboys in the Southland tournament championship game and went on to win the first-ever NCAA Play-In game while the 2006 squad upset Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"You really can't say enough great things about Mike McConathy," said Simmons. "There's nobody that's a better human being than him and his coaching skills are second to none. He loves his kids, the game, the community."
McNeese has dropped the last three meetings to NSU including last year's 85-74 loss in Natchitoches. Simmons has posted a 7-8 record against the Demons as McNeese's head coach.
