LAKE CHARLES – Craig McFerrin's turn-around jumper in the lane with 10.6 seconds to play followed by his defense that forced an off balanced shot by Dillard's Dexter Porchia right at the buzzer helped give McNeese an 80-79 win over the Bleu Devils here Wednesday afternoon and giving the Cowboys their first win of the season.
 
But it wasn't just McFerrin's efforts that played a part in the win.
 
Austin Lewis came up with a big blocked shot with under a minute to play that followed a Jarren Greenwood three-pointer to pull McNeese (1-3) to within 1 after being down by as many as 13 points in the game.
 
Greenwood, one of three true freshman to see significant minutes, led the Cowboys with 16 points while fellow freshman James Harvey scored 10. The two combined to hit 6 of 12 from three-point range and 9 of 18 overall from the field.
 
Jamaya Burr and Lance Potier each scored 13 points to round out McNeese's double-digit scorers.
 
"Austin came in and got a big blocked shot and a huge rebound for us," said head coach Dave Simmons. "And our freshmen really played well. We're still trying to find out identity but if we got our freshmen to keep playing like they did today and get the production from the veterans, we're going to be fine."
 
McNeese had to overcome a remarkable first half of shooting by Dillard (5-3) after it sank 20 of 32 from the field and 6 of 10 from long range to help build a 48-40 halftime lead.
 
But what Dillard did in the first half, McNeese matched it in the second by connecting on 14 of 23 from the field for 61 percent and 8 of 12 for 67 percent from 3-point range.
 
"This was a great team effort," said Simmons. "I told the players in pregame, it doesn't matter how we do it, we just need a win."
 
Dillard was led by a 23 point, eight rebound effort from Demetric Austin. Austin has 17 of those 23 points in the first half but was held to just six points in the second half in large part to Lewis' defensive play.
 
Lewis finished the day with four rebounds and three blocked shots. He also picked pockets for three steals.
 
McNeese opened the second half on a 5-0 run behind a McFerrin layup and Greenwood three to cut the gap to 48-45.
 
Dillard expanded the gap to seven points several times over the next seven minutes until a Harvey three pulled McNeese to within 67-65 with 8:24 to play.
 
The two teams traded bucket for bucket throughout the rest of the game until Greenwood's three with 53 second left cut the gap to one, then McFerrin's winner with 10 seconds to play.
 
McNeese shot 50 percent for the game (31 of 62) and was 12 of 27 for 44 percent from three-point range. Dillard hit 52.5 percent (32 of 61) from the floor and ended 12 of 22 for 54.5 percent from long range.
 
Neither team went to the free throw line much – Dillard 3 for 5 and McNeese 6 of 8. The Bleu Devils held a 33-29 advantage in rebounds.
 
The Cowboys will return to action on Saturday when they host Texas State at 3 p.m. in Burton Coliseum in a game that will be televised live on ROOT Sports.