LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese Cowboys will continue their four-game home stand with game two of the slate on Saturday when they host the defending Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana Lions.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 at the McNeese H&HP Complex. The game will follow an 11 a.m. women's contest between the two Southland Conference schools.
 
Also, the first 150 students to the game will receive free pizza and a drink that is sponsored by the men's basketball program.
 
McNeese's win over Nicholls on Wednesday attracted a record 770 students which added to the largest crowd of the season at 2,778.
 
"Our fans have been phenomenal all year," said head coach Heath Schroyer. "Wednesday night's crowd was awesome. To have the students there makes a huge difference. I've said it all along that we've really tried to embrace this community and embrace this university. And in turn, hopefully the university and community will embrace us and I think we're seeing that."
 
In eight home games, McNeese is averaging 2,122 fans, ranking it second in the Southland Conference behind Stephen F. Austin.
 
Saturday's league double-header should help add to that number when the Lions make a visit for the first time in the new arena.
 
SLU (5-12, 1-3) is coming off a 76-69 win over Lamar that snapped an eight game losing streak and gave the Lions their first win in the new calendar year. Their last six losses were by a combined 15 points with two losses by one point, one by two points, and two by three points.
 
"They're a good team," said Schroyer of SLU. "Marlain Veal is an all-league guy and probably the best point guard in the conference. They've had some injuries and some tough luck on themselves. I'm very impressed with them."
 
Senior forward Moses Greenwood tops the team with 15.6 points per game while Veal is averaging 15.5 while dishing out 4.6 assists, second best in the league.
 
The Cowboys got another stellar performance from junior guard Roydell Brown against Nicholls when he scored a career-high 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds as he notched his league-leading ninth double-double of the season.
 
Brown also tops the conference in rebounding with a 9.7 average to go along with his 12.2 scoring mark.
 
James Harvey leads the team with a 12.7 scoring average while Sha'Markus Kennedy (12.2) and Malik Hines (10.6) round out the top four scorers on the team.
 
Gameday Notes:
• Trey Touchet is Averaging 4.0 assists per game in league games only, ranking him 7th in the conference. He has 20 assists and 6 turnovers in SLC games for a 3.3 assist/turnover ratio to rank him No. 1 in the league.
• James Harvey knocked down three 3s against Nicholls to give him 231 in his career and move him into 4th on the McNeese all-time three-pointers made list.
• McNeese is 2nd in the SLC in average attendance at 2,122 fans per game, trailing just SFA.
• The Cowboys are outscoring their opponents 78-68 at home and are hitting 48 percent in FGs.
• McNeese is 41^st in the nation with fewest fouls committed, and because of that, opponents have attempted nearly 100 fewer free throws than the Cowboys on the season.
• Dunk-a-roos… McNeese has dunked the ball 53 times on the season with quite a few of them being highlight reel slams. Sha'Markus Kennedy leads the way with 20 dunks followed by Roydell Brown with 15, Malik Hines 12, and Kevin Hunt and Will Robinson with three each.