LAKE CHARLES – McNeese will open up its 48^th season of Southland Conference basketball action on Saturday when it hosts Stephen F. Austin at 3 p.m. in the McNeese H&HP Arena.
 
The Cowboys (5-6) have won three straight games for the first time in two seasons and are a perfect 5-0 at home this season. It's also the first time McNeese has five wins through the first 11 games of the season since the 2014-15 slate.
 
"Every game is important to us," said head coach Heath Schroyer. "But getting off on the right foot is important.
 
"SFA has been good for many years now," said Schroyer. "When I took this job, one of the first things I looked at was how to get to what they're doing. I have the utmost respect for them."
 
Stephen F. Austin (9-2, 1-0 SLC) defeated HBU on Wednesday night to open up league play while notching its second-consecutive win. The Lumberjacks stunned the college basketball world earlier in the season when it went on the road to defeat then-No. 1 Duke at Cameron Indoor.
 
"This isn't a one-year deal for them," said Schroyer about SFA's success. "They've been good for a long time."
 
In order for the Cowboys to be successful against SFA they'll need to take care of the ball, something SFA is tops in the country in doing which is forcing turnovers (24.4 per game).
 
"They're ultra physical and we'll have to be really strong," said Schroyer.
 
McNeese is expected to get the services of Sha'Markus Kennedy back in the lineup on Saturday after he missed Wednesday's game against Paul Quinn with the flu.
 
Kennedy leads the team in both scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg) and is tops in the conference while ranking 12^th in the nation in field goal shooting at 67 percent.
 
Dru Kuxhausen is coming off a record night where he drained 10 three-point shots en route to a career-best 32 points. Kuxhausen, who is averaging 16.5 points, is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in three field goals made (52) and threes made per game (4.7) and is ranked fifth in three field goal shooting (52.0 percent).
 
Also expected to start will be A.J. Lawson (15.2 ppg, 3.7 apg), Roydell Brown (7.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.2 apg), and Trey Johnson (4.4 ppg, 2.7 apg).
 
As a team, McNeese is ranked second in the NCAA in three-point shooting (44.4 percent), third in overall field goal shooting (52.8 percent), and ninth in scoring (83.7 ppg).
 
The Lumberjacks have three players scoring double-figures on the season, led by Kevon Harris with an 18.2 average.
 
Game Day Notes:
COWBOYS OPEN SLC PLAY AGAINST SFA:      
• McNeese will open up its 48th season of Southland Conference action on Saturday against Stephen F. Austin in the fourth game of its current 5-game home stand.
• The Cowboys are opening up the league slate at home for the first time under head coach Heath Schroyer.
• McNeese won its third straight game following Wednesday's 109-67 win over Paul Quinn, the first three-game winning streak under head coach Heath Schroyer and first streak of its kind since winning three-in-a-row from Dec. 19-30, 2017.
• McNeese will conclude its home stand on Jan. 2 when it hosts Sam Houston State before hitting the road on Jan. 4 at Central Arkansas and Jan. 8 at Abilene Christian.
 
FAST BREAK FACTS:                                       
• McNeese is 5-0 at home this season and outscoring its opponents by an average score of 101-57 (505-285 total score).
• Dru Kuxhausen set a new single-game school record with 10 made 3s against Paul Quinn, topping the 11-year old former record of 9 set by Diego Kapelan in the 2008-09 season.
• As a team, McNeese tied a game record with 19 threes made (set earlier this season against SUNO) and matched the mark with 35 attemtped 3FG.
 
HOME SWEET HOME:                   
• McNeese is 5-0 at home this season while averaging a 44 point margin of victory.
• In five home games, the Cowboys have knocked down 59.1 percent of their shots from the field (185-313) and 52.5 percent from 3-point range (64-122).
• Four Cowboys are averaging double-figure scoring at home - Kuxhausen (20.0), Lawson (18.4), Kennedy (17.5), and Baker (12.0).
• Possess a +14.6 rebounding margin over opponents (42.6-28).
• Scored 100 points or more in four of the five  home games.
 
THE CENTURY CLUB
• McNeese tied a new school record with its fourth 100-point scoring game of the season after Wednesday's 109-67 win over Paul Quinn.
• That matched the record of four 100-point games scored set by the 1975-76 Cowboys.
• The 109 points scored was the most since scoring 113 against Nicholls in the 1996-97 season and is tied as the 7th-most points scored in school history.
• McNeese is 44-1 all-time when scoring 100 points or more in a game and 4-0 this season.
 
SERIES VS. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
• Saturday's game will be the only meeting of the regular season between the two schools and the 75th meeting all-time.
• SFA holds a 45-39 lead all-time and has won 8 of the last 10 contests.
• Both of McNeese's wins during that span came at home.
• This will be the first meeting between the two in the new H&HP Arena.
• McNeese has beaten SFA just three times since the 2005-06 season (3-16).
 
KENNEDY NAMED MID-MAJOR, SLC, LA POW
• Sha'Markus Kennedy was named this the Mid-Major Player of the Week along with Southland Conference and Louisiana Player of the Week honors after his triple-double against Kansas City last Tuesday (17 pts, 10 reb, 10 blk).
• His 10 blocked shots in that game tied a single-game school record that was set by Edmond Lawrence.
 
RECORDS BROKEN OR TIED IN '19-'20
• In just 11 games, McNeese has already broken or tied seven individual or school records.
The list:
         10 3FGM by Dru Kuxhausen vs. Paul Quinn (new record)
         18 3FG attempts by Kuxhausen vs. PQ (tied)
         10 blocks by Sha'Markus Kennedy vs. KC (tied)
         19 3FGM as a team vs. SUNO and Paul Quinn (new record vs. SUNO and tied vs. PQ)
         35 3FG attempts vs. Paul Quinn (tied team)
         4, 100-pt scoring games (tied for most in season)