HOUSTON - McNeese basketball will look to close out the regular season on a high note while heading into next week's Southland Conference Tournament when it takes on HBU.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at HBU's Sharp Gym. The game will broadcast on the McNeese Radio Network (Magic 92.1 FM and mymagiclc.com) and also on ESPN+ with HBU serving as the production and talent crew.
Cowboys Visit HBU In Regular Season Finale:
• McNeese will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak when it visits HBU on Saturday in the regular season finale and head into next week's Southland Conference Tournament riding a win.
• The Cowboys can still get a No. 5 seed in the tournament with a win and a loss by Northwestern State to Southeastern.
• With a win, McNeese will hold the tiebreaker over both the Huskies and the Demons and will break the three-way tie with the other two should the Demons lose.
• Saturday's game will broadcast live on ESPN+ via HBU production.
Game Day Notes:
• McNeese has lost four straight games and 8 out of its last 10.
• Five of the Cowboys conference losses this season have been by 6 points or less.
• The Cowboys will look to complete a season sweep over HBU with a win on Saturday and possibly locking up a No. 5 seed in next week's tournament.
• In four league wins, the Cowboys are outscoring their opponents by an 83-76 margin, hitting 51 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range.
• Also in the four SLC wins, four Cowboys are averaging double-digit scoring - Zach Scott 19.5, Christian Shumate 16.0, Collin Warren 14.5 and Kellon Taylor 12.7.
• For the season, three Cowboys are averaging double-figures in scoring on the season – Christian Shumate at 12.5, Zach Scott 10.3 and Kellon Taylor 10.1.
• Christian Shumate has scored 10 or more 12 straight games and is averaging 16.8 ppg during that span.
• Shumate ranked 42nd nationally with 2.9 offensive rebounds per game.
• Zach Scott has set a personal career-high with 61 three-pointers made this season, exceeding his previous mark of 59 made when a part of the Florida Gulf Coast team in the 2019-20 season... in his career, Scott has connected on 179 three-pointers.
• Myles Lewis has scored 1,193 points in his career.
• McNeese is ranked No. 3 in the NCAA with 13.8 offensive rebounds per game.
• Ranked No. 1 in the SLC and 8th NCAA with 1,203 total rebounds.
• No. 1 SLC and 13th NCAA with 40.1 rebounds per game.
The Series:
• Saturday's game will be the 30th meeting between McNeese and HBU with the Cowboys leading the series 22-7.
• McNeese has won five straight in the series and is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
• The Cowboys had a dramatic win over the Huskies to open the conference slate earlier this year back on Jan. 15 when Zach Scott buried a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds to play to give the Pokes a 78-75 win in their return to the Legacy Center.
• In that game, Scott led the Cowboys with 24 points behind 5 of 7 three-point shooting while Collin Warren added 21 points... the duo combined to connect on 8 of 14 from long range.
