LAKE CHARLES – McNeese needed to beat New Orleans and have Lamar and Incarnate Word lose their games in order for the Cowboys to qualify for the Southland Conference postseason tournament.
 
Those stars aligned on Wednesday night when the Cowboys rallied from double-digit second half deficit to beat the Privateers 80-73 in the regular season finale. Lamar lost to Nicholls before the Cowboys' game ended but McNeese didn't know its tourney fate until after its game when the team learned later in the locker room that UIW had fallen to the Demons.
 
McNeese will play Texas A&M-Commerce at 5 p.m. on Sunday as the No. 8 seed in the first round of the conference tournament on Joe Dumars Court at Legacy Center. New Orleans is the No. 6 seed and will play No. 7 UIW at 7:30.
 
Against UNO (10-19, 7-11), McNeese found itself in a familiar situation when it trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and 42-29 at the half. McNeese outscored the Privateers 51-31 in the second half. At UNO a couple of weeks ago, the Cowboys trailed by 20 at the half and by as many as 22 points in the second half but rallied to pull out a 1-point win.
 
All five Cowboy starters scored in double-figures with senior Zach Scott leading the way with 18 points. True freshman Dionjahe Thomas recorded his first-career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs, while Christian Shumate recorded his 13^th double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Johnathan Massie scored 14 and senior Harwin Francois added 11.
 
McNeese connected on 45 percent (29-65) for the night but was light's out in the second half, connecting on 18 of 29 shots for 62 percent.
 
UNO's Jordan Johnson led all scorers with 26 points and hit 6 of 9 from three-point range. Khaleb Wilson-Rouse scored 17. The Privateers shot 46 percent (26-56) and was 10 of 20 from long range.
 
McNeese held a 47-24 advantage in rebounds including 20-4 on the offensive glass.
 
2023 Southland Conference Tournament Schedule
FIRST ROUND - Sunday, March 5
5 p.m. - No. 5 A&M-Commerce vs. No. 8 McNeese - ESPN+
7:30 p.m. - No. 6 HCU vs. No. 7 New Orleans- ESPN+
 
QUARTERFINALS - Monday, March 6
5 p.m. - Game 1 winner vs. No. 4 Nicholls - ESPN+
7:30 p.m. - Game 2 winner vs. No. 3 Southeastern - ESPN+
 
SEMIFINALS - Tuesday, March 7
5:30 p.m. - Game 3 winner vs. No. 1 A&M-Corpus Christi - ESPNU
8 p.m. - Game 4 winner vs. No. 2 Northwestern State - ESPN+
 
CHAMPIONSHIP - Wednesday, March 8
4 p.m. - Semifinal Winners - ESPN2