PITTSBURGH, Penn. – The Cowboys dropped their seventh game of the season to the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday, 72-51. McNeese falls to 2-7 on the year after the loss. The Cowboys will return home to Lake Charles to face Texas College on December 19th.
The first ten minutes looked promising for the Cowboys, who would pull out a seven-point lead over the Panthers, brought about by two dunks and three buckets from beyond the arc.
At the 9:34 mark, the score would by tied for the only point in the game, just before Pittsburgh would take its first lead and the one that would hold until the end.
Come halftime, McNeese would only trail by five points, giving Pittsburgh a 24-19 lead. The lead was built upon a combined effort from the Panthers, who had seven players with three or more points in the first half.
The Cowboys began to struggle early on with shooting efficiency, hitting only six of 33 shots from the field in the first half.
Before heading into the locker room, Quatarrius Wilson led McNeese in total points with seven, while Stephen Ugochukwu would pull down five boards.
After the break, McNeese improved its shooting percentage by 11% in the field and 6% beyond the arc but was unable to stop the Panthers who nearly doubled their shooting percentage from the first half.
James Harvey added four three-pointers to his career stats and 17 total total points in the game. Jarren Greenwood added ten to the board as well, going three for six from the line.
Wilson would hit for 11 points of his own; combined with his ten rebounds, the transfer junior would earn his second double-double of the season.
Pittsburgh would lead McNeese by as many as 26 points in the contest, triggered by a Cowboy scoring drought that started with 11:57 left in the second half and lasting nearly six minutes.
The Cowboys finished in Pittsburgh with 47 rebounds, the same as the Panthers, for their second-best performance on the glass this season
On the opposite end of the spectrum, McNeese would shoot a season low of .243 percent from the field, only able to sink 17 of 70 shots.
McNeese gave up less turnovers (8-11) and earning more steals (6-2) than Pitt as well. It seems like some of the pieces are back in place for McNeese who finished last year 7-22, but not all of them are where they need to be.
Pittsburgh now owns the series between the Cowboys and Panthers 1-0.
The Cowboys will return to Burton Coliseum on December 19th to face the Texas College Tigers at 7PM. The home contest will be the team's final match-up before conference play begins against Incarnate Word on December 28. Fans are encouraged to follow the Cowboys on Twitter at @McNeeseMBB for schedule updates and all things regarding Cowboy Basketball.
