LAKE CHARLES – David Hamm rushed for 61 of his 74 yards in the second half including the delivery of the knockout punch with a 1-yard touchdown dive with 38 seconds to play while McNeese's defense provided the blows that kept the Cowboys alive in a 27-12 Southland Conference win over Houston Baptist in the first-ever matchup between the two schools on Saturday night.
 
The win was the third straight for the Cowboys (3-1, 1-1) as they'll play the next two games on the road beginning with Stephen F. Austin next week.
 
HBU dropped to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in league play but was able to put quite a scare into the Cowboys before finally bowing out late.
 
Neither team had much of an offensive attack – McNeese with 306 total yards while the Huskies tallied just 132. But the Cowboys' defense stepped up in critical times to keep the Huskies from taking advantage of some key situations.
 
"Defensively, I thought we played outstanding," said head coach Lance Guidry. "We had our backs up again the wall over and over again. We showed DWA tonight. Just outstanding performance by our defense."
 
Three straight series in the first half after McNeese took a 3-0 lead on a Gunnar Raborn 40-yard field goal with 7:03 to play in the first quarter, the Cowboys turned the ball over, the first being an interception that was returned 21 yards for a touchdown by HBU's Raphael Lewis to put HBU up 10-3 right after the Huskies tied the game at 3-3 on an Alec Chadwick 29-yard field goal.
 
McNeese drove down to the HBU 9-yard line on the next drive, and facing a 1^st-and-goal, Benjamin Jones ran to the 5-yard line where he bumped into the back of his offensive lineman and fumbled the ball and HBU recovered at the 3.
 
After the Cowboys forced HBU in to a punt, McNeese got the ball down to the HBU 2 after a pass interference call on the play before where James Tabary's pass was intercepted because of the foul. The next play, Tabary mishandled the snap and fumbled it away at the 3.
 
The defense got it back on the next possession when Colby Burton intercepted a Bailey Zappe pass at the HBU 31 with 2:58 to play in the half.
 
McNeese moved the ball inside the 10-yard line for the third straight series but had to settle for a 25-yard field goal to cut the HBU lead to 10-6 with 54 seconds to play in the half.
 
"We shot ourselves in the foot several times in the first half," said Guidry. "We're not executing like we need to."
 
The offense got going on the second possession in the third quarter.
 
Starting the drive on its own 9-yard line after a 49-yard Huskies punt, Tabary marched the Cowboys 91 yards, ending with a 14-yard touchdown strike to Kent Shelby to put the Cowboys up 13-10 with 4:28 to play in the quarter. The drive included 11 plays and took 6:20 off the clock as Tabary completed 6-of-7 passes for 79 yards. A 37-yard completion to Lawayne Ross streaking down the side helped set up the go-ahead score.
 
An interception by Damion Morgan at the HBU 44 was returned 40 yards to the 4 with 11:57 to play in the fourth. Three plays later Tabary connected with Darious Crawley for a 6-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-10 with 11:00 to go.
 
Over the next two series, HBU's offense managed just one total yard but the Huskies caught a break when Lewis picked off Tabary for the second time on the night at the 43-yard line and returned it 36 yards to the 7.
 
On the next play, B.J. Kelly ran to the 2 and fumbled after being hit by Ashari Goins. Cory McCoy recovered as the defense kept the Huskies out of the endzone.
 
However, with the ball at the 1 after a penalty on McNeese backed it up a yard, Justin Pratt was tackled in the endzone for a safety as HBU cut the gap to 20-12 with 4:01 to play.
 
HBU started its next drive on its own 46-yard line and down a score but the defense stepped up once again as Andre Fuller intercepted a Jack Swensen pass at the Huskies 42.
 
Then it turned into the Hamm show as the junior running back took the handoff for all six of the offensive plays, ending with his 1-yard plunge with 38 seconds left to make it a 27-12 game.
 
"He came in and gave us the spark we needed," said Shelby who ended the night with a game-high four catches for 38 yards and extending his streak to 28 straight games with at least one catch.
 
Hamm led all rushers with 74 yards on 16 carries and posted a 4.6 yards per carry average.
 
Tabary completed 17 of 30 passes for 184 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He left the game late with a hand injury, but returned on the next series.
 
The Huskies were held to 87 yards rushing and 45 through the air.