LAKE CHARLES – DJ Richards Jr. knocked down a career-high seven three-point buckets on his way to 21 points to lead five McNeese players in double-figure scoring as the Cowboys opened up defense of their Southland Conference championship with a resounding 86-61 win over New Orleans on Saturday afternoon in front of 3,130 in the Legacy Center.
 
Richards' 21 points were the most this season for the junior as he clipped the century milestone for made 3s in a career, now with 106. Javohn Garcia added 18 points while Joe Charles scored 13, Bryant Selebangue 12 and Quadir Copeland 11 to go along with a game-high 10 assists to record the second double-double on the season.
 
The win was the 10^th-straight conference win for the Cowboys dating back to the end of the 2022-23 season as they improve to 7-5 overall (1-0 in the SLC). UNO lost its sixth-straight game and fell to 2-10 overall (0-2 in league play). The two will play again in New Orleans on February 15.
 
McNeese wasted little time jumping on the Privateers, leading 10-0 before UNO put its first points on the board more than five minutes into the game.
 
A 9-0 run in a three-minute span with under eight minutes to play grew the lead to 35-17 with 5:12 to play in the half.
 
T'Johnn Brown, who played for the first time this season while breaking his redshirt due to Omar Cooper being ruled out with an appendix illness, scored on a 3-pointer at the 1:22 mark to build a 44-21 lead as the Cowboys went on to lead it 46-23 at the half.
 
Brown played 17 minutes and scored seven points, two rebounds, two assists and one turnover in making his season debut.
 
The Cowboys maintained their 20-plus point lead throughout the second half and led by as many as 31 points, 84-53, following a Brown layup with 3:04 to play.
 
McNeese made 32 of 66 for 48.5 percent from the field and 11 of 31 for 35.5 percent from three-point range. The Cowboys also sank 11 of 13 for 85 percent from the free throw line. UNO hit 24 of 58 (41.4 percent) from the field, 6 of 24 (25 percent) from long range and 7 of 15 for 47 percent at the line.
 
The Privateers were led by Southland scoring leader James White's 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
 
UNO held a 39-25 advantage on the boards including pulling in 17 offensive rebounds that led to 18 second chance points.
 
McNeese returns to action on Monday when it hosts Southeastern at 6 p.m. The Lions are the only team to give the Cowboys a loss last season, that coming in Hammond.
 
Notebook:
• McNeese was without starters Brandon Murray (knee) and Omar Cooper (appendix) while leading scorer Sincere Parker played just 11 minutes, all in the first half, and scored zero points while dealing with an illness.
• McNeese improved to 22-1 in the Legacy Center over the last two seasons.
• Including the two conference tournament games last season, McNeese has now won 12 straight against Southland Conference teams.
• The Cowboys scored 42 points in the paint, the second-most against a Division I opponent this season (52 vs. Longwood).
• McNeese's 11 3-pionters made were a season-high and were more than the last two games combined (9-22 vs. Mississippi State; 1-16 at ULL).
• 19 assists in the game were the most against a D-1 opponent this year.
• The Cowboys turned the ball over a season-low six times.
• DJ Richards Jr. needed one made 3FG to reach the 100-made milestone. With his career-high seven in the game, he now has 106 in his McNeese career and 169 in his college career.
• Christian Shumate reeled in six rebounds to increase his career total to 940, 24 away from moving into fourth on the all-time school list.