LAKE CHARLES – McNeese got back on the winning track on Wednesday night after downing Southeastern Louisiana 104-82, breaking two records in the process as it gets closer to a Southland Conference Tournament berth.
 
Sha'markus Kennedy and Roydell Brown played in their final home game as a Cowboy, both scoring 21 points on the night while Dru Kuxhausen became the McNeese three-point record holder in a season after hitting seven from long range to give him 113 on the year and breaking the old mark of 107 that was held by Demond Mallett. Kuxhausen joined Kennedy and Brown with 21 points as well.
 
As a team, McNeese (13-15, 8-9 SLC) dished out 26 assists in the game to set a new season record with 464 dimes and breaking the old record of 454 that was set way back in the 1980-81 season.
 
Wednesday's win snapped a six-game losing streak that the Cowboys were struggling through, but broke out of it with a bang early on.
 
Leading 17-16 at the 12:18 mark of the first half, McNeese reeled off 12 straight points, ignited by a Kuxhausen 3, as the Cowboys built a 29-16 lead, a double-digit mark they wouldn't relinquish.
 
Kuxhausen missed on his first three three-point attempts but that one that started the run was the first of three straight made by the junior sharp-shooter as his second one with 11:51 to play in the half, set the new school record.
 
From that point on, McNeese was playing with the confidence it exuded during its seven-game winning streak. After hitting three of their first seven shots of the game, the Cowboys followed by hitting 13 of their next 17 shots and built their largest halftime lead in conference games at 21 points, 49-28.
 
McNeese rolled into the second half with the momentum but after the Lions (6-22, 3-14) cut the lead to 67-47 with 12:07 to play, McNeese went on a 21-9 run over the next six minutes to go up 88-56.
 
During that span, the Cowboys got tough play from Truman Moore, who came off the bench to score six points with two rebounds but was a factor in forcing SLU into some bad shots with his defense.
 
Meanwhile, Brown was left open out on the perimeter much of the night and he took advantage of the opportunities by knocking down 4 of 5 from long range.
 
The Cowboys drained 13 threes on the night, finishing 13 of 28 for 46 percent, but overall, McNeese shot 64 percent (38 for 59) from the field.
 
Both seniors, Kennedy and Brown, combined to knock down 17 of their 21 shots, scored 42 points and pulled in 20 rebounds. Kennedy added his 15^th double-double of the season with his 21 point, 13 rebound game. A.J. Lawson added a double-double as well with 16 points with a career-high 11 assists.
 
SLU had three players score in double-figures – Brandon Gonzalez with 23, Pape Diop 20 and Tyron Brewer 13 as the Lions, who lost for the eighth straight time, shot 44 percent (27 for 62) for the game.
 
Next up, the Cowboys will visit Houston Baptist at 7 on Saturday in the first of their last three games of the regular season, all on the road. They'll visit Nicholls next Wednesday before wrapping up the regular season on March 7 at Lamar.
 
POSTGAME NOTES:
• Dru Kuxhausen went 7 for 14 from 3-point range on the night, giving him 113 threes on the season, a new school record, and just two shy from matching the Southland Conference record of 115.
• The Cowboys dished out 26 assists in the game, just five short of the school record of 31.
• With the two records broken on the night, McNeese has now broken or tied 10 individual or school records.
• McNeese's 49 first half points was the most by the Cowboys in conference this season.
• This was the team's sixth 100-point game of the year, adding to its already school record.
• After hitting 9 of 10 from the field, Kennedy's FG percentage has risen to .683 on the year, just 13 points shy of the school record of .696 held by David Lawrence (1979-80) and 31 points off the conference record of .714 (Jethro Owens of Northwestern State, 1991).
• Kennedy's 15 double-doubles ranks as the second most in school history and tied as the fourth-most in the league. McNeese's Desharick Guidry's 22 in 2015 is the record.
• The Cowboys ended the home slate with a 10-5 record.