LAKE CHARLES – Louisiana College got 18 points and 15 rebounds from preseason all-American Anthony Gaines and the NCAA Division III Wildcats rallied from an 11-point deficit to stun a work-in-progress McNeese State team, 73-70, in the Cowboys' home opener here Tuesday night.
 
"I don't know if we dropped our head during warm-ups and we thought that it was going to be easy or something, but we're a work in progress," said head coach Dave Simmons.
 
Jamaya Burr scored 15 points to lead the Cowboys while Lance Potier added 11. After shooting 51.5 percent in the first half (17 of 33), McNeese (0-2) made just 9 of 29 for 31 percent in the second half. In addition, it turned the ball over 19 times in the game and fouled 29 times that led to 28 LC free throws.
 
"They had 28 free throws," said Simmons. "We did foul them, that wasn't the question. We got outscored 28-13 at the line."
 
The Cowboys led 40-36 at the half and led by as many as 11 with just under six minutes to play but could never put away the Wildcats.
 
McNeese went to its bench a lot in the first half and got 25 points from key players such as Tevin Jackson, Stephen Ugochukwu, and Adrian Brown. But in the second half, those three players combined to play just eight minutes and did not score a point.
 
"I didn't want to have a young guy in there with the game on the line," said Simmons. "I wanted to have some experienced guys in there. Turns out the experienced guys didn't get it done.
 
"We're a young team and still trying to figure out what we can do. A lot of our turnovers are what I call practice turnovers. We have to do a better job of practicing and preparing. We'll get there. We have some good talent on this team."
 
Jarren Greenwood added nine points while Craig McFerrin led the Cowboys with 11 rebounds.
 
McNeese held a 41-35 advantage on the glass.
 
In addition to Gaines' 18 points to lead LC, Raheem Regis and Kevin Cottonham each scored 14 while Dylan Brewer added 13.
 
LC hit 19 of 55 from the field for 34.5 percent and was 7 of 16 from 3-point range for 43.8 percent. The Wildcats sank 28 of 34 from the line for 82.4 percent including going 12 of 14 in the second half.
 
McNeese was 5 of 20 from long range for 25 percent and hit 13 of 16 free throws for 81.3 percent.
 
The Cowboys will hit the road this Friday to take on 8^th-ranked Oklahoma at 7 p.m.