OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma – McNeese's season came to an end on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but it wasn't without a fight before falling 78-68 to Vanderbilt.
McNeese's season ends with a 28-6 record while Vanderbilt improves to 27-8 and will play Nebraska in Saturday's round of 32.
Four Cowboys scored double-figures, led by
Garwey Dual's 16 points.
Larry Johnson added 15,
Tyshawn Archie 13, and
Javohn Garcia 10. Vanderbilt's Tyler Tanner scored 26 to lead all scorers.
The Cowboys started the game on fire, hitting eight of their first 11 shots to go up 19-8 with 13:50 to play in the half. Vanderbilt was slow finding the bottom of the net but heated up with less than eight minutes to play in the half and outscored the Cowboys 22-9 during that span to take a 36-33 lead at the half.
The Commodores scored the first seven points coming out of the break to build a 45-35 lead less than two minutes into the second half.
McNeese answered with a 7-0 run starting on a 3 by Dual then a couple of free throws from Johnson then a driving layup by the freshman as the Cowboys cut the deficit to 45-42 with 15:55 to play.
Vandy tried to pull away but the Cowboys used their defensive strength to turn the Commodores over three straight possessions midway through the half but McNeese was unable to knock down shots to cut into the four-point deficit.
DJ Richards Jr. hit a 3 at 7:25 to pull the Cowboys to within 60-57, then after Tanner responded with a 3, Richards Jr. was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank all three free throws to make it a 66-63 game at the 6:33 mark.
Vandy came back with a 9-0 run while McNeese missed its next 10 shots as the Dores built a 72-60 lead with just over a minute to play.
A 3 by Garcia made it a 76-68 game with 29 seconds left and Vandy hit a couple of free throws with 21 seconds on the clock to close out the scoring.
McNeese turnover Vanderbilt over 13 times in the game while turning it over just six times itself. Vandy held a 37-34 advantage in rebounding but the Cowboys pulled in 16 rebounds on the offensive end but only resulted in six second chance points.
Vandy shot 51 percent (26-51) for the game while McNeese hit 25 of 69 for 36 percent. Both team connected on nine three-pointers – McNeese 9-26 for 35 percent and Vandy 9-24 for 38 percent. McNeese made all nine of its free throws while Vanderbilt made 17 of 20.
