LAKE CHARLES – Larry Johnson scored 26 points to lead McNeese to an 82-63 Southland Conference men's basketball win over New Orleans on Saturday afternoon in front of 3,236 fans who showed up inside the Townsley Law Arena despite the weather turning upside down outside.
 
The Stranger Things themed game was anything but strange for the Cowboys as they won their 23^rd straight game in the home arena and 30^th consecutive victory against conference competition. McNeese is 10-0 this year on its home court.
 
McNeese improved to 16-4 overall and 9-2 in league play while the Privateers fells to 7-13 and 5-6. The Cowboys won for the seventh straight time over the Privateers.
 
The Cowboys led 42-34 at the half and maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half.
 
UNO kept a little pressure on McNeese thanks in large part to Coleton Benson's three-point aim. Benson accounted for all five of the Privateers' three-pointers made and finished with a team-high 23 points.
 
Benson and UNO trailed the Cowboys 57-51 with 13:33 to play in the second half when the Cowboys rolled off an 18-4 run in a stretch that saw McNeese force UNO into seven turnovers in nine possessions including a string of six straight.
 
McNeese led 75-55 following a Johnson driving layup with 4:55 remaining and Jacolb Fredson-Cole shut the curtain with a slam a few seconds later.
 
UNO made just three field goals in the final 10 minutes of the game.
 
Johnson added eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and no turnovers to his stat line while Garwey Dual scored 14 points and Tyshawn Archie with 10.
 
McNeese will be back in action on Tuesday when it visits Southeastern to start a three-game road swing.
 
Postgame Notebook:
• With his 26 points, Larry Johnson has now scored 340 in his freshman season, tying him at No. 10 on the school's record list for most points scored by a freshman in a season.
• McNeese has won 26-consecutive regular season home Southland Conference games, the third-longest streak in the history of the Southland Conference (Lamar 40, SFA 39).
• The 19-point win marked the 13^th win out of 16 by a double-digit scoring margin.
• UNO's 23 turnovers committed marked the seventh time this season McNeese has forced its opponent into 20 turnovers or more.
• Johnson has led McNeese in scoring 11 times this season.
• Johnson and Tyshawn Archie are tied for the team lead with 17 double-digit scoring games.
• Archie has scored double-figures eight straight games.
• McNeese is 9-0 this year when scoring 80 points or more and is 37-0 the last three years.
• 74-15 record over the last three seasons including 45-4 in conference play.
• 12-0 this year when leading at the half and 61-1 the last three years.