LAKE CHARLES – Sincere Parker scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the final 5:44 and McNeese sank 12 free throws with under three minutes to play as the Cowboys defeated North Texas, 68-61, in perhaps the biggest win in Legacy Center history, in front of 3,537 for White Out the Legacy Night.
 
The win extended the Cowboys' home winning streak to 20-consecutive games while evening their record to 2-2 on the season. North Texas, a member of the strong American Athletic Conference, dropped its first game of the year, falling to 3-1, just days after winning at Minnesota out of the Big Ten Conference.
 
Quadir Copeland added 11 points and five rebounds and Joe Charles scored 10 points with nine rebounds and a career-high five steals.
 
The Mean Green were led by Brenen Lorient's 12 points while three others scored 10 apiece.
 
The Cowboys led 32-19 at the half. A 14-0 run over a 6:11 span in the first half gave McNeese its double-digit lead while a remarkable tip-in by Charles at the buzzer sent the Cowboys to the locker room up 13 points.
 
North Texas scored the first five points of the second half to close the gap to eight points but Christian Shumate knocked down a big three-pointer to lift the lead back to 11 early on in the half.
 
A Parker free throw with 16:56 to play gave McNeese a 36-24 lead but North Texas answered with a 20-4 run over the next 5:35 to take a 45-40 lead following an Atin Wright three-pointer. NT's run was kept alive due to the Cowboys missing five straight free throws, but Brandon Murray, who finished with seven points, hit his only three of the game with 10:22 to play to snap the field goal drought and pull the Cowboys to within 45-43.
 
Former Cowboy Johnathan Massie knocked down a jumper with 7:18 to play to give the Mean Green their largest lead at 52-45. That would be the final field goal for the visitors until 11 seconds remaining as McNeese outscored North Texas 22-9 the rest of the game.
 
McNeese shot 44 percent from the field (19-43), 4 of 17 from three-point range (24 percent), and 26 of 39 for 67 percent from the free throw line. North Texas connected on 32 percent from the field (17-54), 36 percent from behind the arc (8-22) and 83 percent at the line (19-23).
 
North Texas held a 37-33 advantage in rebounds including 16-10 on the offensive glass.
 
McNeese will next play at the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam beginning Friday against Illinois State.