LAKE CHARLES – McNeese will close out its home basketball schedule on Saturday when it hosts UIW in the second game of a Southland Conference double-header.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will broadcast live on ESPN+ with former Cowboy head coach Tic Price as part of the broadcast team. Three Cowboys will be recognized prior to the game as part of Senior Day activities - graduate assistant and former player Truman Moore, and graduate transfers Myles Lewis and Kellon Taylor.
 
McNeese (10-19, 4-8 SLC) is in a tie for sixth place with Northwestern State in the league standings but still has a chance, albeit it slight, to finish fourth and earn a bye in the postseason conference tournament. For that to happen, McNeese must defeat UIW (6-23, 2-10) and at HBU next Saturday while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi must drop its final three games and HBU two of its three.
 
Game Day Notes
• McNeese's chances at a conference tournament bye took a major hit with the loss to the Islanders on Thursday night... the Cowboys will have to beat UIW and at HBU while Corpus Christi will have to lose its remaining three games and HBU lose two for the Cowboys to receive a bye.
• Three of the Cowboys' conference losses this year have been by 5 points.
• McNeese will look to end its home slate with a win; the Cowboys are 2-4 in the Legacy Center this season.
• The Cowboys 53 point scored on Thursday night vs. Corpus Christi was the least amount scored in a conference game this season and the third time scoring in the 50s in SLC action, all three against the Islanders.
• Three Cowboys are averaging double-figures in scoring on the season – Christian Shumate at 12.4, Zach Scott 10.1 and Kellon Taylor 10.0.
• Despite going 0 for 4 from long range on Thursday, Scott still leads the league in conference games only in 3FG shooting (.464) and is tied for the top with 32 three-pointers made. He's second with 2.9 3FG made per game.
• Christian Shumate has scored 10 or more 11 straight games and is averaging 18.6 ppg over the last 6 contests.
• Trae English has scored double-digits in 2 of the last 3 games.
• Myles Lewis has connected on 19 of 33 shots (57.6 percent) over the last six games.
• Shumate scored a career-high 29 points against the Cardinals in their first meeting on the season, an 82-72 McNeese win in San Antonio.
• In that game, McNeese built a 25-point lead early in the second half only to see UIW chip away and pull to within five points with 4:13 remaining. Myles Lewis hit a big 3-pointer to halt the rally and the Cowboys were able to keep the Cardinals mounting another threat.
• Saturday's game will be just the 11th home game of the season for the Cowboys and seventh played in the Legacy Center. McNeese has played 19 games away from home this season.
• McNeese leads the overall series 7-3 and defeated the Cardinals 82-72 back on Jan. 22 in San Antonio.
• The win snapped a two-game losing streak to UIW.
• In that game, Christian Shumate scored a career-high 29 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
• Those 29 are the most points scored by a Cowboy player this season.