THIBODAUX - McNeese rolled off a 25-6 second half run in a 7:16 span starting with 9:38 to play in the game as the Cowboys kept their Southland Conference Tournament hopes alive with an 84-75 win over Nicholls here Wednesday night.
 
Sha'Markus Kennedy scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the second half as the Cowboys connected on 14 of 20 for 70 percent in the final 20 minutes, including 6 of 10 from long range.
 
James Harvey added 22 points behind 6 of 8 three-point shooting, Jarren Greenwood scored 16 and dished out five assists, and Will Robinson hit for 14 points.
 
The win improved the Cowboys' overall record to 9-19, but more importantly, at 5-10 in league play with just three games remaining and now hold the tie-breaker over the Colonels who are also 5-10 in the conference and 12-16 overall.
 
McNeese attempted just one field goal in the final 5:11 but didn't need those shots as it sank 14 free throws in those final few minutes to seal away the win. But prior to the 5:11 mark, the Cowboys connected on nine straight shots, including five of those behind the three-point line with three of those makes coming from the hot hands of Harvey.
 
"I really challenged the team at the half," said head coach Heath Schroyer. "We had plays that we needed to make. I challenged our senior guards and they really stepped it up. All of our guards played well.
 
"We made a conscious effort to get Sham (Kennedy) the ball, and once we did that, that opened up the shot on the outside and James did a great job of knocking them down.
 
"Defensively, I thought Trey Johnson did a great job and provided a spark for us. We went with that six-man rotation in the second half and the guys were really connected."
 
Kennedy sank 9 of 11 of his shots for the game and was also 9 of 11 from the free throw line with most of that coming in the second half after he was sidelined for a good portion of the first half with two fouls.
 
Nicholls held a 36-26 halftime lead and led by as many as 13 points at 34-21 with 1:51 to play in the first half.
 
Kennedy scored the first eight points of the second half for McNeese as the Cowboys cut the margin to 40-34 with 15:45 to play.
 
Trailing 56-53 with 9:13 to play, Kennedy started a 14-0 run with his 16^th points of the game off a layup with 9:13 to play, then gave the Cowboys a 57-56 lead on a dunk at the 8:19 mark.
 
Robinson followed with a three-pointer to keep the run alive, then Kennedy reached the 20-point mark with a couple of free throws to give the Cowboys a 62-56 advantage at the 7:06 mark.
 
Harvey increased the run to 14-0 following a 3-pointer with 6:28 left to give McNeese a 65-56 lead.
 
Kennedy scored his final point of the nice off a free throw to give the Cowboys their largest lead at 76-62 with 2:22 to play, then McNeese hit enough free throws down the stretch to win the game.
 
Jeremiah Jefferson led Nicholls with 26 points.
 
POSTGAME NOTES:
• McNeese is one of the national leaders in fewest fouls committed, and on Wednesday night, had just 10 whistled against it. Because of that, Nicholls was sent to the free throw line just five times where it made all five freebies.
• The Cowboys, on the other hand, hit 26 of 36 from the line, a season high in both categories.
• Tied a season-high with 10 three-pointers made.
• Sha'Markus Kennedy recorded his seventh 20-point game on the season and third in the last four outings.
• James Harvey became just the 22^nd player in school history to top the 1,200 career points scored mark after his 22 on the night gives him 1,202 in his career.
• Will Robinson tied a career-high with 14 points, matching the 14 he had against Mississippi College at the beginning of the season.
• The Cowboys shot 53.3 percent for the game, 10 of 25 for 40 percent in the first half and 14 of 20 for 70 percent in the second.
• The 62.5 percent from 3-point range (6 of 10) is a season high.
• The win snapped a 5-game losing streak to the Colonels in their home gym. The last win in Thibodaux come on Mar. 9, 2013 by a 91-88 score.
• It's the first season sweep over Nicholls since the 2010-11 season.
• Both HBU and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi lost on Wednesday night, giving those two teams nine league losses. UCA and Northwestern State both won so there's a 4-way tie for the final two tournament spots with teams that have nine losses. McNeese and Nicholls follow with 10.
• The Cowboys will visit HBU on Saturday before closing out their home slate on Wednesday against Corpus Christi.