LAKE CHARLES – It'll be "Turn-Back-The-Clock" so-to-speak on Monday night when McNeese hosts Lamar in a critical, early season Southland Conference game and the first go-around for the "Battle of the Border" rivalry.
 
McNeese (14-2, 3-0 SLC) has won nine straight games, the fifth-longest current streak in the NCAA, after Saturday's 74-65 win over Southeastern Louisiana, while Lamar (9-7, 3-0) is coming off an impressive come-from-behind win at Nicholls on Saturday.
 
Monday night's 7 p.m. tip in the Legacy Center is expected to encapsulate the energy and excitement the two programs generated when they filled arenas back in the late 70s and early 80s. This will mark the first time in history the two teams will face off against each other as the last remaining Southland Conference squads.
 
Tickets are on sale for just $10 but are going fast. Fans are encouraged to purchase online at McNeeseSports.com. The game will also air live on ESPN+.
 
McNeese, who is 8-0 at home this season, recorded its second-consecutive sellout crowd on Saturday, the first time in school history for that to happen in back-to-back games.
 
The Cowboys rolled out to a fast start against SLU on Saturday, building a 20-4 lead in the first five minutes, then pulling away late with the help of good free throw shooting.
 
Javohn Garcia scored a season-high 22 points to lead the Cowboys while Shahada Wells added 20 points. Christian Shumate raked in his fifth double-double on the season, 26^th in his career, with 12 points and 11 rebounds as he became just the eighth player in school history to record 1,000 points and 700 rebounds in a career.
 
For the season, five Cowboys are scoring double-digits, led by Wells with a 19.7 average which ranks him No. 2 in the conference. Shumate is scoring 11.8 per game while pulling in a league-high 9.4 rebounds. DJ Richards Jr. is averaging 10.8 points while Antavion Collum is at 10.4 and Garcia with a 10.0 mark.
 
As a team, the Cowboys produce one of the top defenses in all of Division I. McNeese is ranked No. 4 in the NCAA in field goal defense (37.1%), sixth in scoring defense (60.0 ppg), and eighth with 10.3 steals per game.
 
Offensively, the Cowboys No. 5 in the nation in turnover margin (5.8), are 11^th in three-point shooting (39.4%), 17^th in turnovers (9.6 pg), and 21^st in total field goal shooting (49.1%).
 
The Cowboys are also 10^th in winning percentage at 87.5% while their 14 wins are just two off the national leaders with 16 (Grand Canyon and Utah State).
 
Series Information: Monday's game will mark the 115^th meeting in the series with the Cardinals holding a slight 60-54 advantage. The two teams split the series last year with McNeese winning 81-62 in Beaumont while Lamar posted a 70-63 win in the Legacy Center.
 
Lamar has won seven out of the last 10 meetings and has captured wins in four out of the last five games in Lake Charles, three of those in the Legacy Center where the Cowboys are 1-3 against the Cardinals.
 
Following Monday's game, the Cowboys will hit the road for its second long conference road trip of the season when it visits UIW on Saturday followed by a nationally televised (ESPNU) Monday night game at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.