LAKE CHARLES – McNeese will go for win No. 20 on Monday night when it hosts HCU in Southland Conference action.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 and the game will broadcast on ESPN+.
 
The Cowboys, 19-5 overall and 12-3 in league play, are coming off an 81-64 win over UIW on Saturday for the team's 24^th straight home win, the second-longest current streak in the NCAA. A win on Monday will mark the third straight year for the Cowboys to win at least 20 games in a season, a program first, and will be the second-fastest to 20 wins (25 games) as a Division I school (23 games in 2023-24) and third-fastest in the history of the program (23 games in 1955-56).
 
Over the last three years, McNeese has produced one of the best records in all of Division I basketball with a 77-16 mark, including 44-1 at home. In addition, McNeese ranks in the top 15 percent of the nation in attendance percentage and tops the Southland Conference by average attendance at nearly 3,500 per game.
 
McNeese fans turned out Saturday night against UIW with the third-largest crowd of the season at 3,554 despite numerous Mardi Gras events scheduled in the area.
 
The Cowboys have been great at home the last three games, especially this season where they're outscoring opponents by a 92.6-62-5 score, a +30.2 scoring margin. Only once out of the 11 home games has it been decided by single-digits (66-64 vs. SFA).
 
McNeese is hitting 53 percent of its shots at home, including nearly 40 percent from three-point range. Defensively, the Cowboys are turning their opponents over nearly 20 times a game and holding teams to 38 percent shooting from the field, 32 percent from behind the arc.
 
Monday's game will be the 37^th meeting in the series against the Huskies with McNeese leading 26-10 and winners of seven straight.
 
The Cowboys beat HCU 78-68 back on Dec. 15 in Houston behind a 22-point outing from Larry Johnson, who scored 17 points against UIW on Saturday night to give him 409 on the season and becoming just the fifth freshman in school history to reach the 400-point milestone.
 
Following Monday's game, the Cowboys will hit the road for a visit to East Texas A&M on Saturday then Northwestern State the following Monday before returning home for their final two regular season home games on Feb. 21 and 23.