NEW ORLEANS – McNeese will look to pick up its second Southland Conference win on the road when it visits New Orleans on Saturday at Lakefront Arena.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 4:15 and the game will follow a matchup between the two women's teams. Both can be heard on Cajun Radio 1479 and 1290 AM and on CajunRadio.com.
 
The Cowboys (5-11, 1-2 SLC) have dropped their last two games by a total of six points with the most recent being a 73-72 heartbreaker at home against Abilene Christian this past Wednesday.
 
McNeese rallied from an 11-point, second half deficit against the Wildcats and had the final shot to win the game, but was unable to get off a good look after nearly turning the ball over.
 
Despite the last two losses, the Cowboys continue to improve every game.
 
"I'm very encouraged but was very frustrated that we can't get over the hump," said head coach Heath Schroyer. "We're doing a lot of good things and our guys are playing really hard. We just have to figure out a way to get over the hump."
 
Against ACU, McNeese produced perhaps its best all-around game of the season after shooting 47 percent from the field, 53 percent from three-point range, 74 percent at the free throw line, and turning it over just six times while dishing out 20 assists.
 
"I think we're just a possession or two away from being 3-0 and really flipping our whole season."
 
McNeese is going to have to come with that same production against a UNO squad that is 2-1 in league play (7-7 overall) and 6-1 in its home arena.
 
"Their a big and physical team who is really well coached," said Schroyer of UNO. "For us, we're going to have to continue to take care of the basketball and figure out a way to score the ball there. They're very good defensively. It'll be another tough test for us.
 
"Every game creates its own challenges and this one has its challenges as well."
 
McNeese is likely to continue with the smaller lineup of James Harvey (13.1 ppg), Jarren Greenwood (6.5 ppg, 2.7 apg), Trey Touchet (4.0 ppg, 2.1 apg), Roydell Brown (11.6 ppg, 9.8 rpg), and Sha'Markus Kennedy (11.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg).
 
Kennedy played just 13 minutes against ACU and only two minutes in the second half due to foul trouble and finished with only four points and three rebounds. His presence will be needed against a UNO team that is first in the conference in blocked shots and fifth in rebounding.
 
The Privateers have won two straight overtime games, most recently winning at Lamar, 78-71.
 
Senior guard Ezekiel Charles leads UNO in scoring with a 12.3 average and is coming off a 22-point game at Lamar and is averaging 18.3 points in three league games.
 
UNO holds an 11-9 lead in the all-time series and has won four straight overall as well as four-in-a-row at Lakefront Arena where the last McNeese win came in the 2014 season.
 
McNEESE PLAYER NOTES:
Roydell Brown
•  Ranked No. 1 in SLC and 25th nationally with 9.8 rebounds per game.
• No. 1 in SLC and 14th in NCAA with eight double-doubles.
• 16 ppg, 10 rpg in SLC games.
• Scored in double-digits in four straight games and 7 out of last 8.
 
Sha'Markus Kennedy
• 2nd in SLC in total blocked shots (29) and blocks per game (1.8).
• Sinking 70.7 percent of his shots on the season (75-107).
• Avg. 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in SLC games only.
• Knocking down 78.9 percent (15-19) of his shots in league games.
• Double-digit scorer in 4 of last 5 games, averaging 16.2 points during that span.
 
James Harvey
• Team leader and tied for 11th in league in scoring at 13.1 ppg.
• No. 2 in SLC with 45 threes made and a 2.8 3FG made per game average.
• Has connected on 227 career 3s, ranking him 5th on the McNeese all-time list and is two away from fourth.
• Double-digit scorer in four straight games (19.3 avg.) and has hit 17 of 38 for 45 percent from long range during that span.
• Starter in last five outings and 10 games on the season.
• Has scored 1,062 career points to rank him 28th on the McNeese all-time scoring list.
• Averaging 17.3 points in league games only.
 
Jarren Greenwood
•  2nd on the team and 16th in NCAA with 2.7 assists per game.
• Has dished out 13 assists with 6 turnovers in league games only.
• 6 assists and 0 turnovers against ACU in last outing.
• Averaging 4.3 assists in league games only.
• Has scored 1,018 career points, ranking him 30th on the school's all-time scoring list.
• 248 career assists to rank him 15th all-time.
 
Trey Touchet
• Starter the last 4 games and is averaging 8 points, 5 assists and 35 minutes of action during that span.
• Has hit 6 of 11 from 3-point range in the last four games.
• Dished out a career-high 11 assists in win over Campbellsville-Harrodsburg on Dec. 30 and is the only Cowboy player this season to total double-digit assists in a game on the season.
• Connected on 5 of 9 from 3-point range in SLC games only.
• Assist/Turnover ratio of 10/4 in league games.
 
Malik Hines
• Coming off a 14 point, 6 rebound outing against ACU for his first double-digit scoring game in five outings.
• Tied for the team-lead with three, 20-point scoring games on the season and had a high of 26 in the season opener at Saint Mary's (CA).
• Has come off the bench the last four games after starting 11 of the first 12.
• Hitting 55.7 percent of his shots from the field (68-122).
 
Kevin Hunt
• Team leader and ranked tied for 10th in the league with 3.1 assists per game.
• 12th in the conference with a 1.0 asst/turnover ratio.
• Scored double-figures five times on the season with a high of 19 points against Loyola (LA).
• Starter in 10 of first 11 games but has come off the bench the last five.
 
Will Robinson
• Has played in 14 games on the season, making two starts, both in the first two games of the year.
• Scored in double-digits four times on the season with a high of 14 points against Mississippi College.
• Has played in 1 of 3 conference games this season.