NATCHITOCHES – For the second time in a week, McNeese will battle Northwestern State in Southland Conference men's basketball action, this time the two will tangle at NSU's Prather Coliseum.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN+ and on the McNeese Radio Network (Magic 92.1 FM and mymagiclc.com).
 
McNeese (5-11, 2-1 SLC) dropped an 82-80 overtime heart breaker last Saturday to Texas A&M-Commerce while Northwestern State (9-7, 1-2) walloped Nicholls at home, 68-48. The Cowboys defeated the Demons 92-77 last Thursday at the Legacy Center to mark their fourth straight win in the series.
 
PROBABLE STARTING 5:
PG – Trae English (11.9 ppg, 3.4 apg, 1.9 spg)
G – Zach Scott (10.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 2.0 spg)
G – Harwin Francois (6.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
G – Johnathan Massie (8.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.3 spg)
F – Christian Shumate (11.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.2 apg)
 
McNEESE SCORING AVERAGES IN SLC ONLY GAMES
Harwin Francios – 16.7 ppg
Zach Scott – 15.3 ppg
Christian Shumate – 14.0 ppg
Trae English – 12.3 ppg
Johnathan Massie – 11.3 ppg
 
SERIES VS. NORTHWESTERN STATE
• Thursday's game will be the 135th meeting in the series with the Cowboys holding a 69-65 advantage.
• Thursday will mark Round 2 versus the Demons on the season, both games coming within the last eight days - McNeese defeated NSU 92-77 in Lake Charles last Thursday.
• The Cowboys have won four-straight in the series, the longest streak since winning four-in-a-row covering the 2001-02 to 2002-03 seasons.
• The last time McNeese won five straight over NSU was back in the late-70s to early-80s when the Cowboys were victorious eight straight games.
 
COWBOY NOTEBOOK
• McNeese is the only team in the league with five players ranked in the top 25 in scoring in SLC games only (Francois, 5th, 16.7; Scott, T-8th, 15.3; Shumate, T-10th, 14.0; English, T-20th, 12.3; Massie, 24th, 11.3).
• The Cowboys have scored 80 or more in three straight games and are ranked 2nd in the league in scoring offense in SLC games only with 84.3 points per game.
• The Cowboys are outscoring their opponents an average of 80-60 in the five wins.
• McNeese is 5-1 on the season when leading at the half, dropping its first game to TAMU-Commerce on Saturday.
• Cowboys have made at least one three-point goal in 310 consecutive games.
• McNeese is the only team in the league with four players that has made 20 or more 3s on the season - Francois 29, Scott 27, English 23, Berze 23.
• Sank 10 or more three-pointers in three straight games and averaging 12.7 made in SLC games.
• Harwin Francois is 16-27 from long range in SLC games only and has made 12 of 19 the last two outings.
• Scott has scored 1,177 points in his career which includes his playing days at Florida Gulf Coast University... he's scored 563 of those points as a Cowboy.
• Scott has knocked down 110 three-point goals in his McNeese career, needing 26 more to move into 10th on the McNeese career record list.
 
ANOTHER COWBOY GREAT, JOHN RUDD, TO HAVE NUMBER RETIRED ON SATURDAY VS. HCU
• McNeese will retire the No. 52 jersey worn by Hall of Famer John Rudd this Saturday when the Cowboys host HCU.
• Rudd played for the Cowboys from 1975-78 and was a four-time All-Southland Conference performer, earning first team honors his junior and senior seasons.
• He's the only player in SLC history to lead the league in rebounding three seasons ('75, '76, '78) and continues to hold the school record while ranking eighth in the conference in single-season rebounding average (13.7 in 1976).
• His career 11.6 average continues to rank No. 2 in school and 5th in SLC history while his 1,181 career total rebounds are ranked 2nd in school and 4th in league history.
• He was inducted into the McNeese Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and was named to the SLC 1970s All-Decade Team.