SAN ANTONIO – Mike Saunders Jr. scored 20 points coming off the bench to lead McNeese to an 80-66 Southland Conference win over UIW here Saturday night and keeping the Cowboys in sole possession of first place now with a 5-0 record.
 
The win was the 11^th straight for McNeese, who improves to 16-2 on the season. UIW fell to 5-12 overall and 0-4 in league play.
 
Christian Shumate added 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds and CJ Felder came off the bench to score 11.
 
Saunders, a transfer from Utah and playing in just his second game as a Cowboy, knocked down 6 of 10 from the field, including two three-pointers, and made 6 of 7 at the free throw line while playing 25 minutes.

DJ Richards Jr. finished with nine points after hitting a couple of threes and completed a four-point play for the second time in three games. He also matched a game-high three steals and dished out one assist.
 
The Cowboys will next head to Corpus Christi for a Monday night showdown against the two-time defending champion Islanders (4-1 in league play) in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
 
McNeese led 42-30 at the half, building a double-digit lead it would never relinquish following a Saunders layup with 8:57 to play. He followed that with a layup plus-1 while Shumate scored four of the next five points, the latter two on the first of his four ShuSlams in the game as the lead grew to 34-15 following a 9-0 run.
 
UIW, who was led in scoring by Josiah Hammons' 26 points, was able to cut into the margin by hitting six 3-pointers in the half and cutting it to 12 at the break.
 
Hammons scored the first two points of the second half to cut the margin to 42-32 but the Cowboys answered with six straight points started with an Antavion Collum layup and followed by back-to-back Omar Cooper layups, the last on a transition basket off a steal.
 
Later, UIW cut the game to 53-43 following another Hammons 3, but the next three possessions became the Shumate Show as he threw down three dunks on three straight possessions in a span of 52 seconds. Saunders added a three-pointer and McNeese built its largest lead at 64-46 with 8:44 to play.
 
That largest lead lasted just 35 seconds when Saunders sank two free throws to make it a 66-47 lead with 8:09 to play and capping a 13-4 span over a 2:52 span.
 
McNeese put together another spurt when UIW cut the margin back to 12 points and got the lead back to 18 after a Felder dunk to make it 73-55 with 3:35 remaining.
 
The Cowboys ended the game hitting 53% from the field (27-51) from the field and sank 22 of 26 for 85% from the free throw line.
 
UIW connected on 40% (22-55) from the field but was held to just 37% in the second half. The Cardinals connected on half of their shots from long range, making 11 of 27 for the game. UIW also made just 11 of 19 at the free throw line.
 
Postgame Notes:
• McNeese is 16-2 for the first time since the 1973-74 team started 17-2.
• The 11-game winning streak is also the longest since that '73-'74 team win 14-straight.
• The Cowboys are 5-0 in Southland Conference play for just the second time in school history.
• McNeese is 13-0 when leading at the half.
• 9-0 when scoring 80 or more points.
• The 20 points for Saunders was his third, 20-point game in his career and the first since scoring 25 against UCLA last season with Utah.
• Saunders is the sixth Cowboy player to have a 20-point game this season.
• Shumate's 13 points on the night gives him 1,138 in his career and moving him up the ladder to No. 25 all-time in school history.
• Shumate planted a season-high four ShuSlams on the night and giving him 25 on the season.
• Shahada Wells was held to a season-low seven points but he dished out six assists and had two steals.
• Nine of the 10 Cowboys to play in the game scored.
• 12 of the 16 wins have been by 10 points or more.