HAMMOND – McNeese will look to build off its recent Southland Conference win over Northwestern State when the Cowboys travel to face Southeastern on Thursday followed by a Saturday tilt at NSU.
 
Tip-off for Thursday's game is scheduled for 8 p.m. at SLU's University Center. The game will broadcast on ESPN+ and on the McNeese Sports Network (Magic 92.1 FM and mymagiclc.com).
 
The Cowboys posted a 1-1 record vs. these same two teams last week, falling 83-78 to Southeastern then downing Northwestern State 93-84.
 
About The Teams: McNeese enters Thursday's game 9-15 on the season and 3-4 in conference play. The Cowboys snapped a 3-game losing streak with a win over Northwestern State on Saturday. McNeese is averaging 76.6 points per SLC game and is 2nd in 3FG shooting at 39.4 percent.
 
The Cowboys have six players averaging 9 points or more with a seventh at 7.8 per game. Four players are scoring 10 or more, led by Christian Shumate with an 11.5 average. Zach Scott tops the team with 15.7 ppg per SLC only game followed by Shumate at 15.0, Collin Warren at 11.2 and Kellon Taylor with a 10.9 average.
 
SLU (12-12, 4-3) is 6-1 at home this season and 2-1 in home conference games. The Lions lead the league in scoring (80.6) in SLC games only. Jalyn Hinton tops the team with 16.3 ppg in league games while Gus Okafor is averaging 13.3, Keon Clergeot 12.5 and Joe Kasperzyk 11.7 ppg.
 
The Series: Thursday's game will be the 119th meeting in the all-time series between the Cowboys and Lion with McNeese holding a 67-51 lead. SLU has won the last three meetings, two this season, and four of the last five. The Lions defeated McNeese 83-78 in the semifinals of the SLC Tip-Off Tournament on Jan. 7 and then again on last Thursday in Lake Charles by the same score.
 
Myle Lewis Reaches 1,000 Career Points Scored Milestone; Zach Scott Closing In: Myles Lewis became a member of the 1,000 career points scored club earlier this year when he surpassed the milestone on Dec. 8 at ULL. Having played four seasons at VMI before transferring to McNeese as a graduate transfer, Lewis scored 901 points at his previous school, and since collecting his 1,000th point two months ago, has now scored 1,144 in his career. Zach Scott, who is in his third season at McNeese after playing two years at Florida Gulf Coast, has scored 915 career points (614 at FGCU and 301 at McNeese).
 
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 13 times among the group. Christian Shumate leads the way with four, 20-point games on the season followed by Brendan Medley-Bacon with three, Myles Lewis and Zach Scott have topped 20 or more twice. Kellon Taylor and Collin Warren have scored 20 or more once. 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. 30 in the NCAA with the bench accounting for 40% of the minutes played in a game. In addition, the Cowboys have scored 650 points from its bench, an average of 27.1 points per game.
 
Spreading the Scoring Wealth: McNeese has seen seven different players lead the Cowboys in scoring this season. Shumate tops the team, having led the squad in scoring eight times followed by Brendon Medley-Bacon with 5, Zach Scott 4 times; Myles Lewis and Kellon Taylor 3 times each; Collin Warren twice and Trae English once.
 
Cleaning Up The Glass: McNeese is ranked No. 1 in the conference in rebounds per game (40.0), total rebounds (959), offensive rebounds per game (13.7), and rebounding margin (5.6). 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 Rankings: The Cowboys rank 8th nationally in total rebounds (959), No. 7 in offensive rebounds per game (13.7), No. 11 in total steals (215), No. 7 in FT attempts (517), No. 21 in rebounds per game (40.0), No. 23 in steals per game (9.0), No. 26 in turnovers forced (16.1), and No. 38 in rebounding margin (5.6).
 
Paint Domination: McNeese has scored 882 points in the paint this season, accounting for 48 percent of the team's total scoring. The team is averaging 36.8 points a game with scoring in the paint. McNeese scored a school record 84 points in the paint in a 120-44 win over Arlington Baptist on Jan. 12.
 
Great Scott!!!: Zach Scott leads the team and is 4th in the conference with 50 threes made on the season and a 2.1 made per game average. Through the first seven games of the year, Scott made just 5 of 25 (20%) from behind the arc. Since then, a span of 17 games, he's connected on 45 of 89 (51%). In SLC games only, he's ranked No. 1 in the league hitting 54.5 percent (24 of 44). He also leads the conference in league games only with 24 made 3s and a 3.4 made 3FG per game average.