LAKE CHARLES – Never before has a McNeese Cowboys' basketball team won 18 of its first 20 games.
 
Never before has a Cowboys' hoops squad won its first seven Southland Conference contests.
 
History can be made with a win on Saturday when McNeese hosts New Orleans at 4 p.m. on ESPN+. The first 500 fans will receive a rally towel and the 2023 SLC softball champion Cowgirls will be recognized during the game.
 
Fewer than 100 tickets remain for the contest that is expected to give McNeese its third sellout in the last four home games.
 
McNeese (17-2, 6-0 SLC) has matched its best start, both overall and in conference play, in school history, tying the great start from the 1973-74 team. The 17^th win came in ultra-dramatic fashion when Christian Shumate laid in a missed tip-in by Antavion Collum off a missed free throw, with 0.3 seconds to play as the Cowboys rallied from an 18-point, second half deficit, to beat the Islanders 62-61 while snapping a 16-game losing streak in the series.
 
It also extended McNeese's winning streak to 12 games, the second-longest in the NCAA only to Dayton's 13-game streak. It was the second-biggest comeback in school history one year after the Cowboys rallied from an early second half 20-point deficit at New Orleans to win by 1 last January.
 
After playing four of its first six league games on the road, McNeese returns home to the Legacy Center where it's been flawless with a 9-0 record while outscoring opponents by nearly 30 points per game.
 
Shahada Wells continues to top the Cowboys in scoring with an 18-4 mark (No. 2 in the SLC) and is one of four players averaging in double-digits for the season. Shumate is sinking 12.1 points while pulling down a league-high 9.8 rebounds per game. Javohn Garcia is added 10.2 points per contest and DJ Richards Jr. is coming off the bench to score 10.9.
 
As a team, the Cowboys are second in the league in scoring (78.7) and first in the conference and sixth nationally in scoring defense (60.8).
 
UNO (7-12, 2-4) has dropped three straight games but has the league's top scorer on the team in Jordan Johnson with 22.5 points per game.
 
McNeese swept the series last year, winning 80-73 at home, but the Privateers hold a 20-11 lead in the all-time series.
 
Gameday Notes:
• McNeese's 17-2 start is tied as the 8^th-best start in Southland Conference history among present and past teams (SFA 32-2, 2013-14; La. Tech 28-2, 1984-85; ULL 22-2, 1972-73; SFA 21-2, 2012-13; ULL 21-2, 1971-72; La. Tech 19-2, 1971-72; SFA 18-2, 2003-04; McNeese 17-2, 2023-24 and 1973-74).
• For the second straight week, the Cowboys received a vote in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
• Head coach Will Wade is the first coach in McNeese history to win his first nine games in his first year with the program.
• Christian Shumate moved up to No. 25 all-time in school history in scoring (1,146) and is 12^th all-time in rebounding (736).
• McNeese has been featured three times on ESPN Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day, the most recent being Shumate's game-winning putback at A&M-Corpus Christi with 0.3 seconds remaining, coming in at No. 10 on the day.
• Shumate has blocked at least one shot in 15 straight games.
• Shumate has 26 career double-doubles, six away from the school record of 32 and is currently ranked 7^th all-time in Southland Conference history.
• Shahada Wells is 30 points away from scoring 1,000 in his career.