THIBODAUX – The McNeese Cowboy basketball team, already reaching heights it never has, will be looking to make more history on Saturday when it visits Nicholls for a big Southland Conference contest.
 
The Cowboys (22-3, 11-1 SLC) hold a two-game lead over the Colonels (13-11, 8-3) in the league standings while a win will give them a three-game cushion with five games remaining. But a victory will also clinch the school record for most wins in a season as a Division I program which they are currently tied with the 2000-01 team that won 22 games.
 
Saturday's game will tip-off at approximately 3:30, following a women's game between the two schools. It'll broadcast live on ESPN+ and on the McNeese Radio Network (Magic 92.1 FM and mymagiclc.com).
 
McNeese set a school record for margin of victory in a conference game when it whipped HCU 105-54 last Monday. That margin elevated the Cowboys' season mark to a 19.2 per game averaging and lifting them to the No. 1 ranking in the NCAA, leaping the Houston Cougars.
 
Nicholls defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 67-63, in a battle for sole possession of second place in its last outing at home. The Colonels, who are coached by former McNeese assistant Tevon Saddler, are 8-1 at home this season and 5-1 in home league games.
 
McNeese boasts one of the nation's top road winning percentages at 73% with its 8-3 record away from the Legacy Center.
 
The Cowboys' starting five are expected to remain the same it has been the last 18 games with Shahada Wells leading the pack with a 17.3 scoring average to go along with 4.7 assises and 2.9 steals per game. Omar Cooper (4.7 ppg, 3.2 apg), Javohn Garcia (10.4 ppg, 46% 3FG shooting), Christian Shumate (12.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and Antavion Collum (9.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg) round out the starting five.
 
The Cowboys have one of the deepest benches in the nation with DJ Richards Jr. (11.2 ppg, 47% 3FG shooting), Mike Saunders Jr. (7.6 ppg, 1.8 apg), CJ Felder (6.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Cam Jones (4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg) all making a difference.
 
Nicholls has the league's fourth and fifth-best scorers in the league in Diante Smith and Jamal West Jr., both averaging 15.4 points per game.
 
Gameday Extras:
• Saturday's game will be the 103^rd all-time meeting with McNeese holding a 54-48 lead.
• McNeese snapped a 6-game losing streak to the Colonels in last year's SLC tournament quarterfinal round.
• Nicholls is 7-3 against the Cowboys in the last 10 games and has won four straight in Stopher Gym.
• McNeese is ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA in seven categories – scoring margin (1^st, 19.2), FG defense (3^rd, 38%), turnover margin (4^th, 6.6), scoring defense (5^th, 61.4), steals per game (6^th, 10.6), winning percentage (6^th, 88%), 3FG shooting (6^th, 39.7%).
• The Cowboys are outscoring their SLC opponents by a 16.7 margin (80.5-63.78).
• With 789 career rebounds, Christian Shumate needs 11 more to become just the 10^th player in school history to reach the milestone.
• With 3 rebounds at HCU, CJ Felder topped the 400-career rebound milestone, now with 402.