THIBODAUX – McNeese State may have only won just two games in a row, but the way the Cowboys have played the last few games could be a sign that some of their best basketball is revving up.
 
The Cowboys (9-11, 3-6 SLC) will go for a season-best third straight win on Saturday afternoon when they visit Nicholls (6-13, 3-6). The game will follow a 1 p.m. contest against the school's women's teams. It'll be carried live on Cajun Radio (1470/1290 AM) and online at CajunRadio.com.
 
Following Saturday's game, the Pokes will visit UNO for a Monday night tilt to close out the three-game trip.
 
McNeese is minutes away from riding a three-game streak into Saturday's contest but a disappointing final seven minutes of play at Incarnate Word saw a 13-point lead fall to a 2-point defeat.
 
Even with that, McNeese has held control for much of the last three games. In a total of 120 minutes played, the Cowboys have led their opponents a total time of 105:10 while opponents have led just 8:23. Ties have consumed 6:27 of action.
 
One reason McNeese has achieved a lengthy advantage is due in part to the scoring of Desharick Guidry, Kevin Hardy, and Keelan Garrett – the LC3. The trio all average in double-figures in scoring making the Cowboys one of just four teams in the 13-team conference that have three starters putting up 10 points or more a game. The others are Incarnate Word, Abilene Christian, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
Among the three senior Lake Charles natives, Guidry tops the team and is ranked fourth in the league with 17.6 points a game. Hardy is 17^th in the Southland with a 12.4 average and Garrett is knocking in 10.1 a game. Guidry also tops the conference and is ranked fifth in the NCAA with 11.7 rebounds per game and is tied as the nation's leader with 15 double-double contests.
 
In addition to those numbers, Guidry has become a huge threat from 3-point range. His 9 of 16 aim in the last four games has bolstered him to a No. 4 ranking in the conference in 3-point shooting with a 42.6 mark for the season. In league games only, he's draining 48.5 percent from long range (16 of 33).
 
Hardy saw hid double-figure scoring streak come to an end at eight games against SLU on Monday when he scored nine points, but he made up for it with six assists, six rebounds and two steals. Those swipes matched him with Demond Mallet as the school's all-time career steals leader with 206 and needs just one on Saturday to become the new record holder.
 
Garrett went silent for a couple games at Sam Houston State and against Abilene Christian as he scored a total of four points while nursing an injured shoulder. But since then, he's hit double-digits in four straight games and is coming off a 14-point contest at SLU where he knocked down four 3-pointers.
 
The three-pointers have started to fall as well. McNeese has hit a season-high 11 3s in two of the last four games and has knocked down 31 of 82 in those contests combined.
 
And then there's the free throws, an area that seemed to deliver a sucker punch to the Pokes in losses to Incarnate Word and Corpus Christi. But at SLU, the Cowboys knocked down 16 of 21 from the charity stripe, including 12 of 14 in the second half. Jamaya Burr was faced with the wall of pressure late in the game and rammed through that wall by making all eight of his tries in the final 2:30 of the game to help seal the win.
 
Nicholls is coming off a 67-55 win over UNO on Monday to snap a two-game skid. The Colonels have dropped four of their last six and is 2-3 in home league games.
 
McNeese holds a 46-34 lead in the all-time series. Nicholls won both games last year including a 68-59 win in Stopher Gym.
 
GAMEDAY TIDBITS:
• Kevin Hardy will be making his 82^nd consecutive start on Saturday.
• Hardy needs 3 more points to reach 1,000 in his career. Desharick Guidry reached the milestone earlier in the year. When Hardy hits it, the duo will be just the third pair in school history to hit the milestone in the same season – in 2001, Demond Mallet and Tierre Brown became the first multi-player 1,000-point scorers and in 2008, John Ford and Jarvis Bradley reached the mark.
• McNeese is 1^st in the league and 21^st nationally in fewest turnovers per game at 10.7.
• Desharick Guidry has recorded 15 double-doubles in 20 games on the year and is ranked tied at No. 1 in the nation in that category.
• Guidry is ranked 7^th all-time in school history with 817 rebounds and needs 24 to more into 6^th.
• Hardy moved into the No. 3 all-time spot in career assists with 385.
• McNeese is 2-7 on the road this season.