LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese men's basketball team (9-16, 6-9) could not put a stop to the firing squad that is Nicholl's Lafayette Rutledge and Roddy Peters, who combined for a total 58 Colonels points in their 96-79 win over the Cowboys on Wednesday.
 
Rutledge posted a game-high 34 points, the most achieved by an individual player against the Cowboys this season, as is his 11 buckets from long range.
 
Head coach Dave Simmons is 9-16 against the Colonels after the loss. "Six game win-streak in their pockets, with a number one spot in the Southland, they came in with confidence and made their shots with such" Simmons said.
 
The loss is McNeese's second-straight with only three games remaining, the season is winding down and so are hopes of punching its ticket to Katy.
 
McNeese was leading by eight points early in the first half when Nicholls stirred up a 19-2 run, taking the lead at the 13:18 mark and never looking back.
 
The Cowboys would trail by as many as 28 in the 17-point loss, and after trailing by 17 at the half, McNeese would never come any closer than 15 to Nicholl's lead.
 
The Colonels did an adequate job containing rebounding machine Quatarrius Wilson, who only managed five rebounds on the night. Wilson still earned 12 points, one of four Cowboys to do so.
 
Joining Wilson on the double-digit list is Kalob Ledoux, who score 11 after returning from an injury and an absence at UNO. Junior guard Jarren Greenwood added 13 to the board, including his perfect combined performances at the arc and the charity stripe, 2-2 and 5-5 respectively.
 
Senior Stephen Ugocuhkwu put back a team high 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season- the first he earned against UL-Lafayette with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Simmons sought after his reserves in the final minutes, who were able to get the Cowboys within 17, outscoring Nicholl's secondary 17-7 over a six-minute span.
 
Nicholls finished with two in double-double territory, including Peters who in addition to his 24 points, added 10 assists, making him responsible for 55 of the Colonels' 96 points.
 
 The other Colonel with the stat was Tevon Saddler, who sank 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the win.
 
"We're not playing well in the defensive transition, and that's where they took advantage of our weaknesses. On the defensive front we didn't make stops when we needed to most" Simmons said.
 
The Cowboys were heavily outshot, putting up only 58 attempts to the Colonels 74 attempts.
 
Simmons has mentioned before in earlier losses this season, McNeese's tendency to lose its aggressiveness in situations similar to tonight's "We need more shots, when players like James Harvey only get one shot off, we have to be more aggressive in those situations, I rather see five or ten shots go up, even if you miss. You can't do much with only one shot."
 
McNeese did shoot 45% from the field, 45% from the arc, and 79% from the free-throw line, meaning the Cowboys simply fell because of lack of attempts. McNeese committed 13 turnovers and only earned 10 assists, while Nicholls had only nine miscues and a whopping 22 assists.
 
The Cowboys will have only two more home games this season, one of which this Saturday against Houston Baptist at 3:30 p.m. The Cowgirls will be tipping off at 1:00 p.m. with the Cowboy's game starting approximately thirty minutes after the final horn.