CORPUS CHRISTI – Fresh off a dramatic last-second win over HBU to begin Southland Conference play while the reopening of the Legacy Center, the McNeese Cowboys will look to extend their winning streak with their first league road swing of the season, beginning Thursday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
Tip-off between the two 1-0 conference teams is scheduled for 7:30 at the American Bank Center and will follow a 5 p.m. game between the two women's teams. The game will also broadcast on the McNeese Sports Network (92.1 FM and mymagiclc.com) and on ESPN+.
 
The Cowboys (7-11, 1-0) have won two straight games and four out of their last six and will be looking to snap an 11-game losing streak to the Islanders (14-4, 1-0).
 
Graduate forward Myles Lewis is one of two players averaging double-figures in scoring with a team-high 11.9 points per game while forward Kellon Taylor is chipping in with 10.2 per game.
 
About The Teams:
McNeese enters the game 7-11 on the season and has won two straight games. The Cowboys are 0-8 in visiting team arenas this season (2-3 at neutral sites). The Cowboys lead the conference in rebounds per game (40.9, 17th in NCAA), total rebounds (737, 5th in NCAA), offensive rebounds per game (14.4, 5th in NCAA), rebound margin (6.4, 38th NCAA), steals per game (9.6, 15th in NCAA), and total steals (173, 7th in NCAA).
 
AMCC boasts the league's best overall mark at 14-4. The Islanders have won two straight and 4 of their last 5. The Islanders' only losses have come to Texas A&M, Minnesota, Notre Dame and New Orleans. The Islanders are 7-0 at home this season.
 
The Series:
The Islanders lead the overall series 14-6. Thursday's game will be the 21st in the series. AMCC has won 11 straight. The two teams met in the 3rd place game of the SLC tip-off tourney on Jan. 8 with the Islanders winning 67-54. The two teams did not play last season. McNeese's last win came on Jan. 10, 2013 in Lake Charles. Last road win was 1/7/12.
 
20-Point Scorers: McNeese has had six different players score 20 points or more at least once this season with a total of it happening 11 times among the group. Christian Shumate and Brendan Medley-Bacon have each scored 20 or more three times while Myles Lewis has topped 20 or more twice and Kellon Taylor once. Zach Scott (24) and Collin Warren (21) joined the group after reaching the mark vs. HBU. The Cowboys had three players score 20 points in the same game against Ecclesia on Dec. 30 (Lewis 21, Shumate 21, Taylor 20) marking the first time that's happened in two years.
 
Off The Bench: The Cowboys rank as one of the top teams in the nation when it comes to bench minutes and scoring. McNeese is ranked No. 38 in the NCAA with the bench accounting for 40% of the minutes played in a game. In addition, the Cowboys have scored 529 points from its bench, an average of 29.4 points per game. Christian Shumate leads the team coming off the bench averaging 9.6 points per game.
 
Out To Quick Starts: The Cowboys have gotten out to quick starts in all but two games this season. McNeese had held a lead deep in the first half for all games for the exception of games at LSU and against Southeastern at the tip-off tournament. McNeese is 6-1 when leading at the half and 1-10 when trailing at the half. Of those 10 losses when trailing at the half, in eight of those games, the Cowboys trailed by 10 or fewer points. The lone loss when leading at the half came against UTEP (McNeese led 38-34 before falling 82-72).
 
Cleaning Up The Glass: McNeese is ranked No. 1 in the conference in rebounds per game (40.9), total rebounds (737), offensive rebounds per game (14.4) and rebounding margin (+6.4). The Cowboys set a school record with 37 offensive boards in a 120-44 win over Arlington Baptist and 77 total rebounds for the second-most rebounds in school history. Outrebounded Arlington Baptist 77-16, setting a new single-game school record with a +61 rebound margin.
 
NCAA Rebounding Rankings: The Cowboys are ranked No. 5 in the NCAA with 737 total rebounds, 5th in offensive rebounds per game (14.4), and 17th in total rebounds per game (40.9).
 
Shumate Off The Bench: Christian Shumate has become one of, if not the top player off the bench in the Southland Conference. The freshman transfer from Tulsa is averaging 9.6 points per game and is tied for the team lead with three, 20-point games on the season. All three of his 20-point games have come in the last 6 outings where he's averaging 14.4 points over that span. He scored a career-high 22-point game against Arlington Baptist where he also pulled down a career-best 17 rebounds to notch his third double-double of the season.
 
Swipe City: McNeese leads the SLC and is ranked No. 7 in the NCAA with 173 total steals and is first in the league and 15th nationally with 9.6 steals per game.
 
Paint Domination: McNeese has scored 706 points in the paint this season, accounting for 51 percent of the team's total scoring. The team is averaging 39.6 points a game with scoring in the paint. Scored 84 points in the paint in a 120-44 win over Arlington Baptist to set a new school record.