LAKE CHARLES – On an afternoon where McNeese honored its four seniors along with the honoring of the numbers of former greats Edmond Lawrence and John Rudd, it was freshman Jarren Greenwood who kept the Cowboys' postseason hopes alive when his three-pointer with 4.5 seconds to play in regulation sent the game to overtime where McNeese prevailed 71-69 over Nicholls in the home finale.
 
After Greenwood hit the game-tying three, he came up with a steal to send the game to overtime as the Colonels' attempt at a game-winning play in regulation was compromised. In OT, Jamaya Burr sank a fall-away jumper in the lane with 2.7 seconds left while Greenwood intercepted the Colonels' inbound pass to seal away the win.
 
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Cowboys (7-19, 5-11) as they move two wins ahead of the Colonels (7-22, 3-12) and Lamar (11-17, 3-13) in the standings for the eighth and final spot. And depending on what happens in the later games on Saturday, the Cowboys could move into a tie for sixth place.
 
"We wanted to penetrate the ball," said head coach Dave Simmons on the final play of regulation. "We had shooters out there and open and Molly (Burr) found Greenwood and hit that big shot.
 
"That's a huge shot for a freshman to hit."
 
But as big as Greenwood and Burr's shots where, senior Shaun Johnson's three in the overtime period with 2:19 to play was just as big. Johnson finished the day with a season-high 11 points on 3 of 5 shooting with 2 threes.
 
"Shaun was the most valuable player of game for us," said Simmons. "He played hard-nosed defense and knocked down some big shots for us. As a senior, he wasn't going to go out without a win in his final home game."
 
McNeese led 34-30 at the half despite Nicholls hitting 58 percent from the floor. A layup by Matthew Moss with 13:38 to play in the second half gave the Cowboys their largest lead of the game at 43-36. Nicholls rolled off a 15-3 run over the next seven minutes to go up 51-46 with 6:54 to play following a Quinton Thomas layup.
 
Things looked bleak for the Cowboys when Shane Rillieux hit a layup to put the Colonels up 58-53 with 1:14 to play.
 
James Harvey, who finished with 17 points, sank two free throws then Burr, who led McNeese with 20 points, made 1 of 2 to cut the margin to two points at 58-56 with 29 seconds left. NSU's Liam Thomas made 1 of 2 free throws with 16 seconds to play to put the Colonels up three and leaving it open for Greenwood to hit his first and only three of the game to tie it up and send it to overtime.
 
In the extra period Quinton Thomas gave Nicholls a 62-60 lead following a three-pointer with 4:18 to play. Burr followed with a 3 to put the Cowboys up by 1 then Johnson followed that with his second trey of the game to give McNeese a 66-62 lead with 2:19 to play.
 
After Nicholls tied it a little over a minute later on a Johnathan Bell layup, Harvey hit two free throws followed by a Thomas layup to tie it at 69-69 with 19 seconds to play. That set up Burr's game-winner with just under three seconds to play.
 
"This win took a lot of fight," said Simmons. "It took us the entire 45 minutes to get this win. This was a total team effort."
 
The Cowboys can lock up a spot in the tournament with a win on Monday at Lamar or next Saturday at Central Arkansas.
 
"We can't rest," said Simmons. "Our focus now is on Monday night and Lamar. We're still not clear. We still have to win."