LAKE CHARLES – McNeese gave UNO all it could handle for the first 28 minutes of the game on Saturday afternoon.
 
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, the Privateers proved why they are one of the league's top teams as they rolled off a 28-7 run in the final 12:19 of the second half to post a 60-51 win over McNeese in Southland Conference action.
 
The loss dropped the Cowboys to 8-19 overall and 4-10 in league while UNO clinched a spot with the win and improved to 16-10 overall and 11-4 in the conference all the while winning its seventh game in the last eight outings.
 
"I thought we really battled," said Cowboys' head coach Heath Schroyer. "I thought we had a great game plan."
 
McNeese pretty much dominated the first half, scoring the first seven points of the game and building a double-digit lead midway through the frame.
 
That lead grew to as much as 14 points behind some balanced scoring from Sha'Markus Kennedy, Trey Touchet and Sleepy Johnson, and the Cowboys took a 33-24 lead into the break.
 
The Cowboys out-shot the Privateers 48 percent to 29 percent in the half. But all that reversed in the second half even though the Cowboys got the looks they wanted.
 
UNO held the Cowboys scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half and cut the lead to five points at 33-28. Johnson started a 7-0 run for the Cowboys with a 3 for the first points of the second half to make it a 36-28 lead, then a jumper by Will Robinson was followed by another defensive stop that led to two Kennedy free throws and McNeese was looking good again with a 40-28 advantage with 14:05 to play.
 
The two teams alternated scoring the next four possessions until UNO struck with a 7-0 run of its own to close the gap to 44-39 at the 9:45 mark.
 
Jarren Greenwood then scored a traditional three-point play after getting fouled on a made layup then hitting a free throw that put the Cowboys back up by eight at 47-39 with 9:20 remaining.
 
UNO got the game to two points before a Touchet layup made it a 49-45 McNeese lead with 6:20 to play.
 
Those would be the last points for the Cowboys until the 1:21 mark, a scoreless drought of 4:59.
 
UNO took its first lead of the game after a free throw by Scott Plaisance made it 50-49 UNO with 4:20 to play as its 11-0 run was capped by a couple of Bryson Robinson free throws to make it 56-49 with 1:42 to play.
 
McNeese's only other points would come by free throws, one by Robinson and one James Harvey.
 
The Cowboys were outscored 36-18 in the second half and held to 29 percent shooting (6 of 21) including 1 of 9 from long range.
 
"I thought we had really good looks in the second half," said Schroyer. "But when you hold a team to 60 points at home and you go 3 for 18 from the three, it's hard to win. We had to step up and make some shots and we weren't able to do that tonight."
 
Kennedy led McNeese with 14 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double on the season and was the only Cowboy player to score in double-figures.
 
"I don't fault our guy's effort," said Schroyer. "They're battling so hard. I'm so proud of their effort. They haven't laid down and they won't lay down."
 
McNeese was playing without top scorer and rebounder Roydell Brown for the fourth straight game.
 
The Cowboys will hit the road for the next two games, beginning Wednesday at Nicholls. The Colonels, who improved to 5-9 in league play after a 100-57 win over UCA on Saturday, are one of the teams McNeese is chasing to get into the postseason tournament.