BEAUMONT – McNeese has done its part.
 
The 19^th-ranked Cowboys got another outstanding defensive effort on a windy night here Saturday as McNeese kept Lamar out of the endzone for a 13-3 Southland Conference win while making its case for a postseason playoff bid.
 
The win improved McNeese's record to 9-2 on the season and 7-2 in league play as it now waits to see its fate as the field of the 24-team playoffs will be announced Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Lamar finished its season at 2-9 and 1-8. 
 
"I know we're 9-2, that's all I know," said head coach Lance Guidry. "If we get in, we're going to be looking for No. 10. But that's out of our hands."
 
McNeese worked the night off a tough defensive effort that kept its opponent out of the endzone for the fifth time this season despite Lamar starting two drives at or inside the McNeese 30 and coming away with no points.
 
The Cardinals crossed midfield just twice in the second half and in seven of their second half possessions, punted five times while surrendering the ball on downs a sixth time.
 
"The defense was very resilient tonight," said Guidry. "We're not perfect by any means. They had some runs out there that they got on us that we made some corrections on, and we messed up on some other things. The effort and attitude when somebody gets in the red zone, that we're going to stop them."
 
After a scoreless first quarter, McNeese got on the board first when James Tabary connected with Tavarious Battiste on a 46-yard strike to make it 7-0 with 13:22 to play in the second quarter.
 
It looked like Lamar would possibly tie the game four minutes later after a Tabary pass was picked off by Nate Jones at the Lamar 41 and returned 54 yards to the McNeese 5.
 
What followed was a three straight rushes by Lamar for a total of two yards then a 20-yard field goal attempt by Elvin Martinez was blocked by McNeese's Dominique Hill and recovered by Damion Morgan to end the Lamar scoring threat.
 
"The most important thing is we got a stop," said Guidry.
 
The lead increased to 10-0 right before the half when Gunnar Raborn knocked through a 52-yard field goal with 42 seconds to play in the second quarter. The kick came after each coach worked their timeouts, two by each.
 
Raborn actually got a feel for the kick when he got off an attempt right after Lamar called its second timeout. The kick fell right of its target.
 
"I felt like I kicked the first one better than the second," said Raborn whose kick ranks tied as the third longest in school history. "I knew after that first kick I was going to make it."
 
Raborn, who leads the FCS in field goal percentage, booted through a 24-yarder with 5:30 to play in the third quarter to put McNeese up 13-0. But the McNeese series before that, punter Alex Kjellsten tied a school record with an 81-yard punt that went through the hands of the return guy and into the endzone.
 
Kjellsten averaged 43 yards per punt on eight kicks with five of those going against a wind that was steady at 20 mph.
 
"I knew that I was going to have to drive the ball and wouldn't be able to punt it like I normally do with a nice, high hang time because the wind would knock it down," said Kjellsten whose 81-yarder tied the record set by Don Stump in 1979. "I had to tilt the ball forward a bit and drive it through that wind."
 
"He had a tough duty to punt with this wind," said Guidry. "He did a great job punting with the rugby style and did a great job of flipping the field."
 
Lamar got its only points on a 43-yard field goal by Martinez with 7:21 to play in the fourth.
 
McNeese finished with 351 yards of total offense – 145 rushing and 206 passing. Lamar had 207 yards and was held to 12 yards rushing against the nation's No. 1 rushing defense.
 
Tabary connected on 15 of 36 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Lawayne Ross led the team with five catches for 42 yards while Battiste, Parker Orgeron, Kylon Highshaw and Darious Crawley each hauled in two passes as team receiving leader Kent Shelby missed the game with a sprained ankle.
 
David Hamm led the running attack with 77 yards on 25 carries. Pratt started the game but was knocked out of action after the game's first play when he aggravated a sprained knee.
 
McKenzie completed 23 of 44 passes for 195 yards and an interception for Lamar.
 
Hill and Jermaine Antoine each led the team with seven tackles while Cory McCoy intercepted a pass. The Cowboys sacked the Lamar QB four times and collected 12 tackles for a loss in the game.