LAKE CHARLES – McNeese will close out a four-game road stretch on Saturday, when it travels to Beaumont to face Lamar at the Montagne Center. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m.
The Cowboys trail the all-time series against their rivals, 47-54 , heading into the 102nd all-time meeting between the two programs.
McNeese had been making up ground in the series until the past couple years. LU swept the season series in 2016-17 and has won four of the past six meetings. The Cardinals are 36-14 against McNeese in Beaumont.
Lamar was responsible for ending the Cowboy's 2016-17 season on a sour note, defeating McNeese in Burton, 90-83.
The Cowboys would trail by as many as 21 in the first half, and despite cutting the lead to 13 after a fiery start to the second half, with jumpers from
Stephen Ugochukwu and
Kalob Ledoux, McNeese could not overcome the hot-shooting Cardinals.
Ledoux and Ugochukwu finished the contest with 17 and 14 points respectively.
Fast forward to 2018, Lamar will be hosting the Cowboys after a 79-74 loss to now top-tier Nicholls on Wednesday.
Senior Cardinal Colton Weisbrod led LU in the loss with eight field goals and a total of 28 points. Following Weisbrod were previous SLC player of the week winners, Nick Garth with 15 points and Josh Nzeakor with 12.
After scoring fewer than 10.0 points per game in Lamar's three-game slide, junior Nick Garth has returned to form over the course of the past two games. Garth tied a career high with 25 points at Incarnate Word and followed that up with a 29-point outing against Sam Houston State.
For the Cowboys, Saturday's game comes after back-to-back conference wins against Southeaster and Houston Baptist.
Most recently, in Houston, McNeese defeated HBU 85-80.
Led by junior
Jarren Greenwood, who posted his second 20+ point game of the season, the Cowboys were able to defeat the Huskies with an impressive 47% shooting efficiency from the field.
Dominating the glass, as he usually does, was newcomer
Quatarrius Wilson, who pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds against HBU.
Wilson continues to lead the SLC in rebounds, with 9.8 per game- the only player to average more than nine. In conference games only, Wilson averages a whopping 11 rebounds per game, the only player to average more than 10.
At the conclusion of Wednesday's conference matchups, McNeese ranked in the top two in five categories: field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense, three point field goal percentage, blocked shots, and defensive rebounds.
Their success doesn't stop in the Southland, with the Cowboys ranking 36th in Division I in rebounds per game, 45th in blocks per game (4.7), and 54th in fewest turnovers.
Saturday's game will be available on ESPN3, with link to live stats and radio available at McNeeseSports.com. Fan are encouraged to follow along with live in-game updates on Twitter at @McNeeseMBB.
