SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The most historic season in McNeese Division I basketball history came to an end on Thursday when the Cowboys dropped an 86-65 game to a hot shooting Gonzaga team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
The loss ended the Cowboys' magical season at 30-4.
 
Shahada Wells capped off his collegiate career with a game-high 19 points while Christian Shumate equaled that scoring output of 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds as he added to his school career record with his 34^th double-double.
 
McNeese, the No. 12 seed in the Midwest Region, scored the game's first two points on a driving fade-away layup by Wells, but Gonzaga (26-7), hit back-to-back three-pointers to ignite an 8-0 run and an 8-2 lead.
 
The Cowboys kept things close in the first 10 minutes of the game but were not able to get any kind of scoring spurt put together due to the pin-point shooting of the Zags who sank 8 of 11 from behind the arc in the first half while the Cowboys missed on 10 layups that fueled Gonzaga's 48-25 halftime lead.
 
McNeese outscored Gonzaga 40-38 in the second half but was never able to get the run it needed to get back into the game.
 
Five Gonzaga players scored in double-figures, led by Ike Graham who had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Anton Watson with 13 points and 13 boards. Ben Gregg added 12 points, Nolan Hickman 11 and Dusty Stromer 10.
 
Gonzaga connected on 51.7% from the field for the game (31-60) and made 10 of 21 from three-point range. It's hot shooting in the first half was the difference maker as it connected on 58.6% (17-29) from the floor and 8-11 for 72.7% from long range.
 
McNeese connected on just 33.3% (23-69), its worst shooting night on the season, and knocked down 5 of 22 from three-point range for 22.7%. The Cowboys made just 1 of 10 in the first half from 3FG range.
 
The Cowboys played a much better second half but had too tall of an uphill climb against the much bigger Zags.
 
After just dishing out one assist on nine made shots in the first half, McNeese had nine assists on 14 makes in the second. The Cowboys also forced Gonzaga into nine second half turnovers and held the Zags to 45% shooting as well as 2 for 10 from long range. McNeese also turned the ball over just six times in the game, twice in the second half.
 
Gonzaga dominated the glass, holding a 46-34 advantage in rebounds but the Cowboys led 14-12 on the offensive boards, holding a 15-7 advantage in second-chance points.