LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese men's hoops team will open up its home slate on Monday night when the Cowboys host Southern-New Orleans as the Cowboys continue their busy opening week schedule.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 at the McNeese H&HP Arena.
 
Country music recording artist and Southwest Louisiana native Gyth Rigdon with sing the National Anthem. The Voice Season 16 finalist will also hold a meet and greet with fans from 5-6:15 in the Poke Pavilion (third level of the arena).
 
Doors will open at 5 p.m. and a special discount of $5 a ticket will be available to all current and retired military personnel in honor of Veteran's Day (military ID required).
 
The Cowboys (0-2) are coming off an 85-80 loss to ULL on Saturday night in Lafayette in a game that saw McNeese build a 13-point first half lead then fall behind by double-digits in the second half, only to make a late rally with a chance to tie the game with three seconds to play.
 
Five Cowboys scored in double figures, led by Dru Kuxhausen's 18 points. A.J. Lawson added 14 and a game-high three assists. Roydell Brown recorded his 12^th career double-double and first of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds; Leondre Washington added 11 points; and Sha'Markus Kennedy scored 10 points with nine rebounds and a blocked shot.
 
Lawson leads the team in scoring through two games with ­17.5 points per game. Kuxhausen is averaging 14 per contest, Kennedy with 12.5 points and 11 rebounds per game, and Brown with 10 points a game.
 
McNeese is hitting 46.5 percent of its shots from the field and is pulling down 36.5 rebounds per contest.
 
SUNO is a member of the NAIA and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.
 
The Knights are 0-4 on the season and dropped a 74-70 decision to Mobile in their last outing.
 
Monday's game will be the fifth meeting between McNeese and SUNO in the all-time series with the Cowboys will the previous four games.
 
After Monday's game, the Cowboys will hit the road for a Wednesday night matchup at Wisconsin at 6 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
 
McNeese Probable Starting Lineup:
G  12       A.J. Lawson (17.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, .452 FG, .273 3FG, .500 FT)
G    0        Dru Kuxhausen (14.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .409 FG, .313 3FG, 1.000 FT)
G  13       Trey Johnson (5.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, .500 FG, 1.000 3FG, 0-0 FT)
G  22       Roydell Brown (10.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, .438 FG, .545 FT)
F  23        Sha'Markus Kennedy (12.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg, .563 FG, .583 FT)