McNeese (11-3, 4-1 SLC) vs. Stephen F. Austin (12-2, 5-0)
January 5, 2026 • Joe Dumars Court at Townsley Law Arena
 
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: (LINK)
Tickets: (LINK)
 
LAKE CHARLES – The biggest game of the season thus far will commence on Monday night in the Townsley Law Arena when McNeese hosts Stephen F. Austin in a battle between two teams picked to fight it out for the championship.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the game will broadcast on ESPN+.
 
McNeese will enter the game 11-3 overall and 4-1 in Southland Conference play and coming off an 82-70 home win over rival Lamar in front of a record-breaking, sellout crowd. It was the Cowboys' fourth-straight league win since dropping the opener by four points at UIW.
 
Stephen F. Austin has been equally impressive with a 12-2 record and is 5-0 in the conference and joins Nicholls atop the league standings. McNeese will host Nicholls next Monday night.
 
The Cowboys extended their home court winning streak to 19 games with their win over Lamar. It's currently the fifth-longest home court winning streak in the NCAA following St. Thomas (25), Duke (24), Miami, Ohio (23) and Akron (23), and New Mexico (20).
 
McNeese is ranked in the top six in the NCAA in five different categories and is No. 1 in turnover margin (7.5). The Cowboys are fourth in turnovers forced per game (17.6), fifth in steals per game (10.8), fifth in bench points scored per game (40.4), and sixth in fastbreak points scored per game (19.2).
 
In addition, McNeese is ranked No. 1 in the Southland Conference in 12 categories including FG shooting (49.3), FG defense (39.7), scoring offense (86.4), and scoring margin (+17.1).
 
Individually the Cowboys are led in scoring by freshman Larry Johnson with a 16.6 average, which is fourth in the conference. Johnson is one of three Cowboys averaging double figures along with Tyshawn Archie (13.4) and Javohn Garcia (12.4). Garwey Dual is making 9.5 points per game while DJ Richards Jr. has a 9.3 average.
 
SFA has two of the top five scorers in the league in Keon Thompson (3^rd, 17.6) and Lateef Patrick Jr. (5^th, 16.1) while Jerald Colonel leads the league and the NCAA with 3.3 blocks per game and is second in the conference with 8.1 rebounds a game.
 
SERIES vs. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
• Monday night's game will mark the 89^th meeting in the series with SFA holding a 47-41 lead.
• The Cowboys have won two straight, including last year's regular season finale 95-64 in Nacogdoches for the 19^th conference win to match SFA's league record.
• McNeese defeated SFA 79-59 in Lake Charles last January 20 to renew the series after the Lumberjacks took a four-year hiatus to join the WAC.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
• McNeese has won 19 straight games in Townsley Law Arena, tied as the 5th-longest current streak in the NCAA.
• Since the beginning of the 2023-24 season, McNeese has compiled a record of 39-1 inside the Townsley Law Arena the last 40 games with the lone loss coming against Santa Clara last season.
• In Southland Conference play during that span, McNeese is 22-0 in regular season league games at home and 26-0 overall against conference opponents when adding in league tournament games.
• The Cowboys have won 23 straight regular season conference games in Townsley Law Arena dating back to the 2022-23 season with the last loss coming on Feb. 18, 2023 to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
TALKING POINTS
• McNeese's non-conference schedule ranked as the 18th toughest in the nation.
• The Cowboys are ranked No. 49 in the latest NCAA NET rankings and No. 71 in the KenPom.
• The Cowboys finished its non-conference slate with a 7-2 record, including a 5-2 mark against Division I opponents.
• McNeese has won at least 11 games through the first 14 for the second time in the last three years.
• Three players - Larry Johnson, Carl Cherenfant, and Peitok Machar have each started the last six games, the first starts of their career.
• Johnson is averaging 16.6 ppg for the season, the top freshman scorer in the conference and is ranked 11th in the NCAA among freshmen.
• Javohn Garcia has scored 970 career points while at McNeese, 1,298 overall.
• DJ Richards Jr. needs four made three-pointers to move into a tie for 6th all-time in school history.
• Larry Johnson's 232 points scored has him on the brink of jumping into McNeese's top 10 all-time list of freshman scorers (Kenny Jimmerson, 309 points in 1982-83).
 
WINNING DNA
• Since the start of the 2023-24 season, McNeese has compiled a 69-14 overall record, including a 40-3 Southland Conference record over the last three seasons.
• McNeese has won 19 straight home games dating back to last season with the last loss coming against Santa Clara last December.
• 57-1 record when leading at the half over the last three years, 8-0 this season.
 
SUCCESS WHEN SCORING 80+
• McNeese is 35-0 since the start of the 2023-24 season when scoring 80 points or more.
• The Cowboys have scored 80 or more in seven games this season.
 
TAKEAWAY TRAIN
• McNeese moved back into the No. 1 spot in the NCAA in turnover margin with a +7.5 mark.
• The Cowboys have forced 20 or more turnovers six times on the year and 10 or more in all 14 games.
• McNeese has forced more turnovers on opponents than committed in every game.
• The Cowboys forced No. 2/1 Michigan into 15 turnovers, the third most committed by the Wolverines this season.