NEW ORLEANS – Sunday's practice for the McNeese State Cowboys at UNO's Lakefront Arena barely touched on the lack-luster play from the day before when the Cowboys dropped a 70-59 game at Nicholls.
 
Instead, the hour long practice was the normal routine with a scout of the Privateers, but there was a sense of disappointment among the players and the feel that the Cowboys let one get away that they know they could've won.
 
But if the Cowboys (9-12, 3-7 SLC) are to get back on the winning track, they know they're not going to be able to take anyone lightly in this league, including a UNO squad that hit its low point on Saturday after falling to Central Arkansas - the Bears' first win of the year.
 
Tip-off on Monday night at Lakefront Arena will be at 7 p.m. The game will be carried live on Cajun Radio (1470/1290 AM) and online at CajunRadio.com.
 
"I told the kids after the game (Saturday) we've got to play hard, number one, and have to play smart," said head coach Dave Simmons. "And we did none of those."
 
Simmons tried to make a statement to the starting five when he benched the unit four minutes into the second half after the Cowboys saw a 3-point halftime lead fall into a 9-point deficit behind a 14-0 Nicholls run.
 
"I tried to send a message to my starters by doing that," said Simmons. "I thought we felt like going into the game that Nicholls was just going to lay down. But with Nicholls at home, it's always a tough place to play. But you have to come focused every game. It's up to our seniors to get the young guys to understand. I told them you're better than what you played.
 
"We felt pretty good going into that game with two straight wins and with the same record as them (Nicholls). And I told them if we could've taken care of business today, then take care of business on Monday, then we're 11-11 overall and 5-6 in conference with Northwestern coming home to us.
 
"The biggest thing is, we have to regroup. No matter how bad this is, we have to regroup and go try to win the game on Monday night."
 
This will be the second matchup against the Privateers in the last four games. The Cowboys 68-61 10 days ago in Lake Charles. In that game, the Cowboys built as much as a 19-point lead with 12 minutes to play but saw that lead dwindle to a one possession game late before being able to hold off the Privateers.
 
"Hopefully we learned our lesson against Nicholls," said Simmons. "We can't underestimate anybody. We have to come ready to play every minute. But we have to play hard first. I told them we're not Kentucky. We don't have nine All-Americans on the team. But when we put it all together, we're pretty good. But when we don't come, one or two guys are not prepared, we don't play the way we need to play to get a victory.
 
"I know UNO is upset with they're loss. I know the feeling. It's going to be a mental game. It's going to be about which team wants it the most. They can't be feeling very good and we're not feeling very good."
 
UNO (6-13, 2-8) has lost three straight and 8 of its last 9 games and is 2-2 at home in conference games.
 
McNeese has won three straight in the series but the Privateers lead the overall series by a 7-6 mark.