NEW ORLEANS – McNeese scored the game's first five points and held an 18-16 lead over Tulane through the first 11 minutes of the game, but the Green Wave, behind Georgetown transfer Collin Holloway, outscored the Cowboys 17-8 over the final nine minutes, then added to the lead early in the second half to go on for a 75-58 win over McNeese on Friday night.
McNeese fell to 1-1 on the season while Tulane improved to 2-0. It's the first win by the Green Wave over the Cowboys in 13 years, snapping a two-game losing streak and evening the series up at 2-2.
Johnathan Massie led the Cowboys with 12 points behind 5 of 10 shooting (2-2 3FG), but as a team, McNeese made just 24 of 64 from the field for 37.5 percent and 7 of 23 from long range for 30 percent.
The Cowboys looked good early despite several unforced turnovers as offensive rebounding and second chance points kept them ahead for more than half of the first 20 minutes. McNeese pulled in six offensive boards and scored six points off those second chances in the half.
Christian Shumate led on the boards with seven to go along with six points while Donovan Oday came off the bench to score nine points including shooting 2 of 3 from three-point range.
Holloway, in making his debut with the Green Wave, led all scorers with 25 points while Kevin Cross added 21 and Jaylen Forbes 11.
Tulane took its largest lead at 73-49 after a dunk by Tylan Pope. McNeese answered with a 3 by Oday as the true freshman scored all of his nine points in the final 2:26 of the game.
McNeese will be back in action next Friday, Saturday and Sunday when it hosts its own MTE in the Legacy Center. The Cowboys will play Western Carolina at 4:30 on Friday, Lindenwood on Saturday at 1:30 and Lamar at 1:30 on Sunday.
