LAKE CHARLES – The men's basketball team is back in Burton as we begin to round out the end of the 2017-18 season with the final eight games. The Cowboys (8-12,5-5) will face-off against the Jacks (18-5, 7-3) from Stephen F Austin on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 6:35 p.m.
 
Thursday's game will be broadcast on ElevenSports and CoxSports, and therefore will not be available vie live stream through CowboyInsider. Fans are encouraged to follow along with live stats and audio. Links for both can be found at McNeeseSports.com.
 
The Jacks are headed to Lake Charles after taking a clobbering by Lamar last week, the 76-54 loss was the biggest of the year for SFA this year.
 
SFA is led by Kevon Harris and Shannon Bogues, who are averaging 16.1 and 14.4 points respectively, the duo shoots a combined 50.9% from the field for the Jacks.
 
Unlke Stephen F Austin, the Cowboys are still on a high from last week's 75-62 win over Northwestern State. Especially Kalob Ledoux, the sophomore guard who put up a career-high 34 points in the win. Ledoux drained seven of his eight three-point attempts, one short of tying the school record.
 
Ledoux leads McNeese in scoring, with a 15.6 points per game average. Another dominating force on the court for the blue and gold is Quatarrius Wilson, who is only one big game away from averaging 10+ rebounds per game; he currently pulls down 9.9 in all games, 10.8 against conference opponents.
 
Amongst Southland opponents,  the Jacks post a better scoring offense, fielding 77.4 points per game to McNeese's 75.5. The Cowboys have the second-best defense in the league, ranking 2^nd in field goal percentage defense and 3^rd in three-point field goal percentage defense- so SFA's scoring offense will be put to the test.
 
Thursday's contest will be ther 83rd meeting between the Cowboys and Jacks, the series dates back to 1951-1952 season where McNeese first defeated Stephen F Austin 83-61 in Lake Charles.
 
SFA leads the all-time series by a 42-40 margin and has won five of the last six outings. McNeese head coach Dave Simmons is just 3-11 against the Jacks. After losing five straight, the Cowboys' claimed a big 69-54 win over SFA to start Southland Conference play 2-0 during the 2016-17 season.
 
McNeese is only 2-8 over the last ten meetings, being outscored by the Jacks by 145 points with the Cowboys losing by five or less only once. The Cowboys' wins were both of 10 or more points and both home games.
 
The most points ever scored on SFA by McNeese was 103 in a 17-point win over the Jacks during the 1998-99 season, the least amount of points allowed by the Cowboys was in a nine-point, 27-18 win during the 1959-1960 season.
 
During every home game, fans will have the chance to win a $200 Boreing Vision giftcard as well as up a piece of $240 in cash prizes! Make sure to look for our marketing staff for a chance to participate in the Boreing Vision Half-Court shot and the Universal Coin Halftime Challenge!