BEAUMONT – McNeese will visit Lamar for the first go-around of the Battle of the Border on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 as the Cowboys look to build on their trend of improvements and getting back into the Southland Conference race.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 at Lamar's Montagne Center. The game will broadcast live on ESPN+ and also on the McNeese Radio Network (92.1 FM and mymagiclc.com).
 
The Cowboys (7-9, 1-6 SLC) are coming off a hard fought 76-69 loss at Nicholls while Lamar (3-11, 1-4) has dropped two straight games, most recently a 102-72 setback at Stephen F. Austin.
 
"We're going to have to establish ourselves defensively and establish the paint offensively," said McNeese head coach Heath Schroyer. "We're going to have to defend at a high rate and control the glass."
 
Defending the glass is something the Cowboys have done a better job of lately the last two games, combining for a plus-11 advantage.
 
The Cowboys currently lead the Southland Conference in rebounding with a 37.8 mark. Individually, McNeese's KeyShawn Feazell's 10.8 boards per game ranks him No. 1 in the conference and 10^th nationally.
 
Offensively, the Cowboys are tops in the league and 8^th in the nation in scoring with an 84.8 average. McNeese has risen to the top of the NCAA with 325 total assists and is second with 20.3 dimes per game. A.J. Lawson leads the league with 5.6 assists per game and has dished out six or more in four straight games.
 
The Cowboys, who did not have any type of offseason due to the damage caused by hurricanes Laura and Delta to the facilities and very little preseason practice time, seem to be climbing that mountain to its peak over the last three games despite a 1-2 record.
 
Against Southeastern Louisiana, McNeese had a chance to pull ahead with seconds remaining but missed two free throws. Then the Cowboys picked up their first league win at HBU three days later. That followed with a visit to Nicholls, one of the hottest teams in the league, where McNeese had its chances to pull out the win.
 
"We've made a lot of improvements over the last couple of weeks," said Schroyer.
 
Saturday's game will be the third of five straight on the road for the Cowboys.
 
SERIES: 111^th meeting. Lamar leads 58-52 all-time.