NATCHITOCHES – Tyshawn Archie scored eight of his game-high 24 points in a 33 second span midway through the second half to put McNeese up 63-45 then DJ Richards knocked down a three-pointer on the next possession to make it a 21-point lead as the Cowboys took down Northwestern State, 75-64, and to sweep its first Southland Conference weekend road trip of the season.
 
McNeese (22-5, 15-3 SLC), winners of three straight, held its largest lead at 73-51 after a Peitok Machar free throw with 8:03 to play. That would be the Cowboys' final points until Jacolb Fredson-Cole connected on two free throws with 28 seconds remaining.
 
Seven seconds prior to Machar's freebie, Fredson-Cole hit the final McNeese field goal at the 8:10 mark.
 
The cushion on the scoreboard came up big when the Demons rolled off a 13-0 run to cut the lead to 73-64 with four minutes remaining with eight of those points coming at the free throw line.
 
The Demons made their final field goal with 6:45 to play on an Izzy Miles make.
 
McNeese went 0-for-11 from the field and 2-for-5 at the free throw line in the final 8:10 while the Demons went 0-for-6 from the field, 7-for-7 at the free throw line, and turned the ball over twice in the final 6:15 of the game.
 
The Cowboys led 43-29 at the half after hitting 49 percent from the field including 6 of 14 from three-point range as Archie recorded 14 of his 24 points in the first 20 minutes.
 
Larry Johnson finished with 15 points in 17 minutes missed most of the second half due to cramping, playing only three minutes. His 15 points moved him past Edmond Lawrence for third on the McNeese freshman single-season scoring list with 447 points.
 
Machar led the team with seven rebounds.
 
Michah Thomas led the Demons with 27 points while Miles and Willie Williams each scored 12.
 
The Cowboys return home for their final two regular season games in Townsley Law Arena starting Saturday at 7 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a game that will broadcast nationally on ESPNU. Following that, McNeese will honor its seniors next Monday night against URTGV with a 6:30 start time.