LAKE CHARLES – McNeese true freshman James Harvey knocked down five 3-point baskets and scored a team-high 23 points, but it was his off-balance 32-foot three-pointer with a defender in his face as the shot expired with 10 minutes to play that helped ignite the Cowboys to a 72-68 win over Sam Houston State and giving the Cowboys their first league win of the season.
 
Harvey's remarkable basket came at a perfect time as McNeese (3-11, 1-3) was trying to break the momentum the Bearkats (9-9, 4-1) had built by way of a 26-9 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half to turn a 14-point McNeese halftime lead into a 3-point Bearkat advantage with 10:32 to play.
 
Harvey followed his game-tying shot at the 9:57 mark with another three off a behind-the-back pass from Tevin Jackson to put McNeese up 55-52 with 9:32 to go.
 
"I thought it took a whole team effort," said head coach Dave Simmons whose team knocked the Bearkats from the ranks of the league's unbeaten. "We played well, especially in the first half. But we knew they were going to make a run because that's what good teams do. We did a great job of keeping our composure and making plays when we needed them the most."
 
Nothing was bigger than the play of Harvey who knocked down 5 of 7 from long range and was 7 of 15 overall from the field.
 
"He's been unbelievable the last two days of practice," said Simmons.
 
Jackson added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in 24 minutes of work while Craig McFerrin recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards.
 
McNeese connected on 42.4 percent (25-59) for the game and was 10 of 22 for 45.5 percent from long range. The Cowboys sank 51.6 percent (16-31) in the first half that helped them build a 40-26 halftime lead.
 
The Cowboys came out of the gate on fire to start the game, making 5 of their first 6 shots and led 11-2 four minutes into the game as Sam Houston got its first basket with 16:40 on the clock. McNeese led by as many as 17 late in the half before closing out with a 40-26 lead.
 
SHSU went to its inside game in the second half and took advantage as Aurimas Majauskas, who finished with a team-high 24 points, scored 15 of those in the second half. He went on a stretch where he scored six straight points for the Bearkats with his final two in that string giving SHSU its first lead of the game at 50-49 with 10:55 to play.
 
"They beat us inside," said Simmons. "But we were without Austin (Lewis) so we had to go small for the game."
 
Lewis, the team's top shot blocker, missed the game due to an ankle injury.
 
Harvey and Jackson took over the Cowboys' offense in the final 10 minutes as the two combined to score 20 of McNeese's 23 points during that time with 12 of those 20 coming off of three-pointers.
 
SHSU hit 24 of 62 (38.7 percent) from the field and was 5 of 27 for 18.5 percent from long range.
 
The Bearkats held a 40-37 advantage in rebounds but only scored 12 second chance points on 10 offensive boards. SHSU also scored just three points off eight McNeese turnovers.
 
"Our turnovers were down and we didn't give up and threes on their offensive rebounds," said Simmons.
 
The Cowboys will now hit the road for a Tuesday night visit to Abilene Christian to see if this young team is ready to put a run together.
 
"This win gives us a lot of confidence," said Simmons. "They were one of four undefeated teams in the league and we've played them all so far. We're still a very young team and we're going to make mistakes but this win helps tremendously."