LAKE CHARLES – McNeese State University will officially ring in the new Health & Human Performance Complex with a grand opening on Wednesday night prior to McNeese's Southland Conference men's basketball tilt against Nicholls for the first of a four-game stretch that will cover the next three weeks.
 
Tip-off is slated for 6:30 in what has been declared "Student Experience Night" as the Cowboys look to get back on the winning track. Students, who get in free with their school ID, will receive a free t-shirt while the first 200 students will be awarded a concession stand voucher.
 
The new H&HP Complex opened up to students on Monday, the first day of classes for the spring semester. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at mid-court prior to the start of the game.
 
The Cowboys (5-12, 1-3 SLC) have dropped three straight games since a league-opening win at Incarnate Word but have been just a possession or two away from being 3-1 on the year after a six-point loss at Northwestern State and one-point defeat at the hands of Abilene Christian.
 
The Colonels (10-7, 3-1) have won two straight and five of their last six with wins over Stephen F. Austin (78-73) and Houston Baptist (77-76) in their last two games. Nicholls is one of three teams in the league tied for second place at 3-1. Sam Houston State tops the standings with a 3-0 mark.
 
 
STAT LEADERS
Four Cowboy players are averaging double-digits in scoring on the season, led by James Harvey and Sha'Markus Kennedy's 12.5 points per contest. Roydell Brown is sinking 11.4 ppg to go along with a team and conference-best 9.5 rebounds per contest while Malik Hines is scoring 10.4 per game.
 
Nicholls is led in scoring by Jeremiah Jefferson's 16.4 clip, ranking him third in the conference.
 
KENNEDY SHOOTING LIGHT'S OUT
McNeese junior forward Sha'Markus Kennedy is ranked second in the nation in field-goal percentage with a 70.2 percent aim. He trails only Baylor's Tristan Clark (73.7)
 
Kennedy has connected on 85 of 121 shots on the season, including 25 of 33 for 75.8 percent in four conference games. In addition, he's averaging 17.0 points per game in conference contests only, ranking atop the team.
 
AIKEN FACING FORMER TEAM
McNeese associate head coach John Aiken will be going up his former team for the first time on Wednesday when the Cowboys host the Colonels.
 
Aiken arrived to McNeese last March after spending the previous two seasons on the Nicholls staff where he helped lead the Colonels to a 21-11 record last season and a share of the Southland Conference championship.
 
FIMILIAR NON-CONFERENCE FOES
McNeese and Nicholls have played four of the same non-conference opponents this season – Mississippi College, North Carolina Central, Mobile, and Campbellsville-Harrodsburg. Both the Cowboys and Colonels defeated all four opponents but McNeese split a two-game series with NC Central.