LAKE CHARLES – McNeese true freshman guard Donovan Oday made 1 of 2 free throws with 2.2 seconds to play to break a 78-78 tie and Christian Shumate corralled the offensive rebound on the miss to second a 79-78 win for the No. 8-seeded Cowboys over No. 5 Texas A&M-Commerce in the first round of the 2023 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at McNeese's Legacy Center on Sunday night.
 
With the win, the Cowboys (10-22) advance to the quarterfinal round to take on No. 4 Nicholls at 5 p.m. on Monday. A&M-Commerce finished its season with a record of 13-20.
 
Shumate was dominant on the night, scoring a game-high 28 points to go along with 12 rebounds as he recorded his 14^th double-double on the year and in the fourth-straight game. Oday added six points but all six of those came at the free throw line with three makes in the final 1:05 of the game.
 
Zach Scott added 19 points while Johnathan Massie scored 13 with eight assists. Another true freshman, Dionjahe Thomas, recorded his second straight double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, five of those on the offensive glass.
 
Commerce was led by C.J. Roberts who scored 19.
 
Neither team led by more than seven points throughout the game as there were 16 lead changes and 13 ties. The teams carried a 35-35 tie into the half and Commerce held its largest lead of the second half at 65-60 and 67-62 around the seven-minute mark.
 
McNeese then went on a 6-0 run following an Oday freebie, Scott 3 and a Shumate layup as it went up 68-67 with 4:36 remaining.
 
The Lions would never regain the lead again as the Cowboys connected on 7 of their 8 free throw attempts in the final 3:44 to help secure the win.
 
The Cowboys shot 51 percent for the game, hitting 30 of 59 from the floor and sank 15 of 23 at the free throw line for 65 percent, including 14 of 19 in the second half. McNeese also held a 39-31 advantage in rebounds and scored 14 second chance points on 13 offensive boards.