THE OFFICIAL HOME OF McNEESE ATHLETICS

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Larry Johnson scored a career-high 31 points, 20 coming in the first half, and Jaylon Dean-Vines added a career-best 17 points to lead McNeese to a 99-78 dominating win over UAB in The Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon here Monday.
 
The win extended the Cowboys' regular season winning streak to nine straight while improving to 2-0 against UAB.
 
Choppa Moore contributed with 15 points while Alier Maluk, Jerrell Colbert, and Christian Nitu each scored eight.
 
The Cowboys connected on 55% from the field (38-69) including 66% in the second half (21-32) and at one point, having knocked down 14 of their first 17 shots in the second 20 minutes.
 
Of that scoring spree, McNeese made 12 of 27 from behind the three-point arc including a whopping 10 of 16 in the second half.
 
Defensively, the Cowboys were on point, turning the Blazers over 14 times and turning that into 18 points. McNeese also held a 33-26 advantage in rebounding, led by Nitu's six.
 
Dellquan Warren dished out nine assists and three steals with only one turnover in 27 minutes.
 
UAB started the game on fire, hitting five of its first six shots to grab a quick 15-6 lead through the first five minutes.
 
Johnson then took over, scoring nine straight points himself then a three-pointer by Choppa Moore extended the McNeese run to 12-0 and to an 18-15 lead with 9:12 to play in the first half.
 
The Cowboys connected on 12 of their 18 shots in the final 10 minutes to build a 44-35 halftime lead. Five of those 15 makes were dunks and another five being layups.
 
McNeese made its first four shots in the second half to go up 52-41 with 17:09 to play. Three minutes later, the Cowboys sank three straight 3s, two by Maluk and one from Johnson, to make it 63-52.
 
The Cowboys stayed on the gas, scoring 32 more points in the final eight minutes, 15 of those off three-pointers.
 
Next up, McNeese will visit North Texas for a Thursday afternoon tip at 4. That game will broadcast on ESPN+. The Cowboys will make their regular season home debut next Monday at 6:30 against the College of Biblical Studies.
 
Notebook:
• McNeese scored 44 points in the paint, made 9 of 15 layups, and 8 of 8 on dunks.
• Johnson's 31 points breaks his previous career-high of 30 scored in last year's season opener against College of Biblical Studies.
• Johnson has scored double-figures in 31 of his 35 games played at McNeese and 13 games with 20 or more points scored.
• Dean-Vines' previous career-high was four points.
• There was only one lead change in the game.
• Head coach Bill Armstrong improves to 29-6 in his career as a head coach.