LAFAYETTE – McNeese's short break for finals comes to an end on Wednesday when the Cowboys visit long time rival Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m. at the Cajundome.
The Cowboys (1-5) have been out of competition since a Nov. 30, 74-73 loss at Central Michigan in a game that saw the 'Boys rally from a 14-point second half deficit with a chance to win the game in the waning seconds.
ULL (2-3) fell 81-70 at Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 3 in its last outing to open Sun Belt play.
The Ragin' Cajuns lead the all-time series by a 55-35 margin but the Cowboys upended ULL 80-70 in Lake Charles last December. The Cowboys have won three of the last five meetings but those two losses have come in Lafayette. McNeese's last win at ULL came on Dec. 13, 2007 by a 67-61 score.
McNeese will be looking at staying sharp from long range, an area that has seen the Cowboys improve greatly over the last three games. McNeese is 1-2 in those but the two losses were by a combined four points.
In the last three, the Cowboys have knocked down 27 of 66 from three-point range (44 percent). In the first three games, the Pokes hit just 16 of 68 for 24 percent.
Leading the way is junior point guard
Jamaya Burr, the team leader in scoring with 15.3 points per game, who has connected on 9 of 16 from long range in the last three games. His last miss, however, banged off the back of the rim at the buzzer against Central Michigan that would've given the Cowboys the win.
Burr is ranked sixth in the Southland Conference in scoring and is fourth in 3-point field goal shooting at 45.5 percent (10 of 22).
True freshman
Jarren Greenwood seems to be gelling well lately and is second on the team with 9.3 points per game.
ULL is ranked No. 1 in the Sun Belt and tied for fourth nationally with 90.8 points scored per game. The Cajuns have topped 100 or more twice this season with a third game over 90.
Senior center Shawn Long leads the team and is ranked second in the league with 19.0 ppg and is tops in both in rebounding with 11.2 per contest.
Following Wednesday's game, the Cowboys will head to the Midwest to take on the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday night at 6:30 in a game that will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
