LAKE CHARLES – McNeese scored the game's first 12 points, led 28-5 late in the first half, and never looked back as the Cowboys cruised to a 79-51 win over Southeastern on Monday night in Southland Conference action.
 
McNeese won for the third straight time and improved to 8-5 overall while going to 2-0 in league play. Southeastern dropped to 0-2 in conference play and 6-7 overall while seeing its two-game win streak snapped.
 
Javohn Garcia recorded his second-straight 20-point scoring game after netting a career-high 26 points. Christian Shumate scored 12 and pulled down 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and 35^th in his career. Quadir Copeland scored 11 and dished out eight assists and Bryant Selebangue pulled in a season-high 12 rebounds as the Cowboys played without starters Omar Cooper (appendix) and Brandon Murray (knee) as well as team scoring leader Sincere Parker (illness).
 
Southeastern was led in scoring by Kam Burton and Sam Hines who each scored 11.
 
McNeese led 34-20 at the half after SLU outscored McNeese 8-0 in the final 2:15. But in the second half, the Cowboys got out to another hot start, outscoring the Lions 24-10 in the first eight minutes.
 
The Cowboys were great on defense, forcing SLU into 22 turnovers while scoring 32 points off the miscues. McNeese also held a 37-29 advantage in rebounding stuffed the Lions to just 14 made two pointers on the night.
 
McNeese connected on 49 percent for the night (27 of 55) but shot 56 percent in the second half (14 of 25). The Cowboys also sank 18 of 22 from the free throw line for 82 percent and was 7 of 18 from long range for 39 percent.
 
Southeastern was held to 40 percent shooting (19 for 48), 5 of 22 from three-point range for 28 percent and made 50 percent of its free throws, hitting 8 of 16.
 
Next up, McNeese will play the next two games away from home beginning next Saturday at East Texas A&M then the following Monday at Northwestern State. Both games will broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
Notebook:
• McNeese is 2-0 to begin Southland Conference play for the third straight season.
• The Cowboys have improved their record to 23-1 in the Legacy Center over the last two seasons and 20-0 in Southland Conference games during that time.
• Monday's win was the 13^th straight over a conference team in the Legacy Center, matching McNeese's school record for most consecutive league wins (2001-02) and the 8^th-longest streak in conference history.
• Christian Shumate recorded is first double-double on the year and 35^th in his career, adding to his McNeese career school record and breaking the tie in the Southland Conference record book, now at No. 3 alone. No. 2 is Clarence Kea of Lamar (1976-80) who has 54 double-doubles and the record holder is B.B. Davis of Lamar (1977-81) who has 56.
• Shumate's 10 rebounds give him 950 in his career, 13 away from matching Frank Glenn's 963 for fourth on the McNeese career record list.
• Garcia's 26 points snapped his previous career high of 23 points he scored while playing for UMass against Northeastern in December 2020.
• It's his second, 20-point game of the season.
• Copeland dished out a game-high 8 assists and is averaging 9.0 in two league games.
• Selebangue's 12 rebounds are a season-high and three off his career-best of 15 he pulled down against Cincinnati in February 2023 while playing for Arizona State.
• The Cowboys have held 9 of their last 10 opponents to less than 70 points scored a game.
• McNeese captured its 390^th all-time Southland Conference win, a league record.