McNEESE NOTES     RICHMOND NOTES
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RICHMOND, Virginia - The McNeese Cowboys will take its NCAA fifth-best three-point shooting team with the nation's No. 1 long range shooter in Dru Kuxhausen on the road Friday to face Richmond in the third and final regional game of the 2019 Roman Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper.
 
Tip-off for the contest is 6 p.m. central time and the game will broadcast live on ESPN-plus.
 
The Cowboys (2-4) are coming off a 103-51 win over Arlington Baptist in their last outing this past Monday night that saw four Pokes score in double-digits, led by Sha'Markus Kennedy with 22 points on 10 of 11 shooting.
 
McNeese knocked down 11 of 22 from three-point range while Kuxhausen hit 4 of 8 from behind the arc. On the season, Kuxhausen leads the nation with 26 threes made while as a team, the Cowboys are fifth in the NCAA in 3-point shooting with a 45.3 percent aim.
 
Richmond (3-0) last played on Nov. 17 when it defeated CSUN by a 90-62 score. The Spiders also have a 93-92 overtime win over Vanderbilt on Nov. 14.
 
POKIN' AROUND:                                                                                                                                                                                        
• McNeese returns its top two scorers and rebounder from last season - Sha'Markus Kennedy and Roydell Brown - both who accounted for 42 percent of the team's rebounding total last year and 35 percent of the scoring.
• The Cowboys set a new school record with 19 three-point baskets made in a 104-33 win over Southern-New Orleans on Nov. 11. In that game, both Dru Kuxhausen and Sam Baker each knocked down 7 treys and combined to hit 14 of 19 from long range on the night.
• McNeese is ranked #3 in the NCAA with 62 three-point field goals made; #7 in 3FG percentage at 45.3 percent; #23 with 137 3FG attempts; and #2 with 105 total assists.
 
KUXHAUSEN LEADS NATION IN 3FG MADE
• Junior transfer Dru Kuxhausen leads all of Division I basketball with 26 three-point baskets made.
• In addition, he's ranked 4th in the NCAA with 53 three-pointers attempted and #9 with 4.3 three-pointers made per game.
• Fellow junior transfer Sam Baker is No. 2 in the Southland Conference and 40th in the NCAA with 14 threes made. 
 
KENNEDY EARNS SLC HONORS
• Sha'Markus Kennedy was named this week's Southland Conference Player of the Week for his performance in the Cowboys' three games this past week.
• The senior from Tuscaloosa averaged 22.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and knocked down 77.1 percent of his shots from the field (27 of 35).
• He began the week scoring 20 points in a loss to Wisconsin, scored a season-high 26 points at New Mexico where he also swatted away a career-high six shots, and sank 22 points on 10 of 11 shooting against Arlington Baptist.
• Kennedy is currently leading the SLC with 9.3 rebounds per game, 2nd in FG shooting (65.6 percent) and is 5th in scoring (17.8 ppg).
 
SPREADING THE SCORING WEALTH
• Seven different players have scored in double-figures this season and in four games, three or more players have recorded 10 or points.
• The Cowboys had five players score double-digits in the win over Southern-New Orleans and four players with 10 or more against Arlington Baptist.
• McNeese's top four scorers are averaging at least 8.0 ppg: Sha'Markus Kennedy (17.8 ppg), Dru Kuxhausen (16.7 ppg), AJ Lawson (11.7 ppg), Sam Baker (8.0 ppg).
 
SHARING THE BALL
• McNeese has dished out 105 assists on its 177 made shots through the first six games.
• That number ranks the Cowboys #1 in the Southland Conference and #2 in the nation.
• McNeese had 30 assists in a win over Arlington Baptist its last game out, falling one shy of the single-game school record of 31.
• Individually, AJ Lawson is ranked 3rd in the SLC and #80 in the country with 21 total assists while Roydell Brown is 5th in the league with 18.
 
AIRING IT OUT FROM LONG RANGE
• In addition to the individual three-point performance listed above, as a team, the Cowboys are 3rd nationally with 62 threes made, 7th in 3FG percentage at 45.3, and 26th with 10.3 threes made per game.
 
BROWN FINDING HIS RHYTHM
• Senior guard Roydell Brown missed the last 8 games of the season last year due to an ankle injury and has started off this year a little timid, but he seemed to have had a break-out game against Arlington Baptist when he flirted with a triple-double by pulling down 14 rebounds, a career-high nine assists, and six points.
 
SERIES VS. RICHMOND
• Friday's game will be the fourth meeting between McNeese and Richmond in the series with the Spiders having won the previous three matchups.
• McNeese is 0-2 in Richmond and 0-1 when playing in Lake Charles.
Nov. 26, 2005              L, 58-50 at Richmond
Jan. 12, 2001               L, 90-80 at Richmond
Dec. 18, 1999              L, 83-71 at McNeese
 
FLYING THE FRIENDLY SKIES
• Friday's visit to Richmond will mark the fourth flying trip for the Cowboys in the first seven games of the season.
• Those flights include trips to Kalamazoo, Michigan (Western Michigan), Madison, Wisconsin (Wisconsin), Albuquerque, New Mexico (Univ. of New Mexico), and now Richmond, Virginia (Richmond).
• The total mileage traveled in those flights add up to over 8,800 round-trip miles.