HOUSTON – McNeese got a hot start to begin both the first and second halves and built several 20-plus point leads on its way to a 75-59 win over HCU here Monday night to remain the only unbeaten Southland Conference team in league play and giving head coach Will Wade his 230^th career victory.
 
The win was the seventh-straight overall for the Cowboys as they improve to 12-5 overall and 6-0 in league play, and it's the 17^th-consecutive conference win, the fourth-longest in league history. HCU fell to 6-11 and 3-3.
 
Five Cowboys scored in double-figures, led by DJ Richards Jr. and Javohn Garcia with 16 points each. Joe Charles Christian Shumate added 11 points each and Quadir Copeland scored 10. Copeland also dished out seven assists. Bryant Selebangue added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.
 
D'Aundre Samuels scored 15 to lead the Huskies.
 
McNeese connected on 48 percent from the field (29-60) and 33 percent from three-point range (7-21) while HCU shot 40 percent (20-50) and 26 percent from behind the arc (7-27).
 
The Cowboys led 10-0 to start the game and used a 16-0 run late in the first half to build a 25-point lead before the Huskies edged it back to a 39-20 McNeese lead at the half.
 
In the second half, the Huskies used a couple of runs to pull as close as 14 points, but the quick fire-power of the Cowboys sharp-shooting quickly grew the lead to over 20.
 
McNeese held a 40-31 advantage in rebounds and held HCU to just six offensive boards. The Cowboys scored 18 points off 17 HCU turnovers and outscored the Huskies 40-24 in the paint.
 
The Cowboys will return home for their next two games, beginning Saturday at 4 against Lamar in the first round of the Battle of the Border.
 
Notebook:
• McNeese won for the 7^th straight time and 17^th-consecutive league win, the fourth-longest streak in conference history.
• The Cowboys are 6-0 in league play for the second straight season.
• Christian Shumate scored 11 points, giving him 1,503 in his McNeese career and moving him past Kenny Jimmerson and Bill Reigel for 14^th place on the school's career scoring list.
• It was also Shumate's 82^nd career double-figure scoring game.
• Javohn Garcia's 16 points increased his career total to 923, needing 77 to get to 1,000.
• With his nine rebounds, Bryant Selebangue has pulled down 9 or more boards in four of six conference games.