Win third straight to remain second in SLC

For the second game in three days, the McNeese State men’s basketball team failed to complete a comeback as Southeastern Louisiana beat the Cowboys 75-67 Saturday at the Burton Coliseum to split the season series.

McNeese junior forward Quatarrius Wilson had a lights-out game, accumulating 20 points and 14 rebounds, but the rest of the Cowboys (8-14, 5-7 Southland Conference) struggled on the boards. No other Cowboy had more than four rebounds despite McNeese holding a significant size advantage against the Lions (16-10, 10-3), who won their third straight to stay within a half game of league-leader Nicholls State. 

“We have one guy out there that’s really rebounding and going after every rebound,” said McNeese head coach Dave Simmons, whose team lost its fourth straight at home. “We have to get more guys doing the same thing. He have to be more present on the glass.”

The Cowboys fell behind early and trailed 40-30 at halftime, but they never let the game get out of hand and slowly chipped away at the deficit until pulling within a point on James Harvey’s lone 3-pointer of the day.

McNeese had multiple chances to overtake the Lions, but it never made the necessary plays to make it happen.

The dagger came in the final minute with SLU ahead 67-65 when it seemed McNeese had gotten a stop, but Lions guard Marlain Veal was fouled retrieving an offensive rebound. He hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game.

The timely offensive board allowed the Lions to close out the game at the free-throw line.

“We missed one big offensive rebound that reset the clock late in the basketball game,” Simmons said. “That was the biggest play. It allowed them to take time off the clock and get fouled.”

Veal scored six of his 20 points in the closing seconds. He had two steals and a block. Moses Greenwood also had 20 points and Jordan Capps added 15 with seven rebounds.

The win gave the Lions 10 conference wins for the first time in five seasons.

From the opening tip, SLU limited McNeese’s backcourt. The Cowboys’ three starting guards combined for 20 points and shot 32 percent from the field.

“It looked like their goal was to not let us score around the perimeter,” said sophomore shooting guard Kalob Ledoux, McNeese’s leading scorer.

“Quatarrius (Wilson), Stephen (Ugochukwu) and LaBarrius (Hill) really stepped up for us tonight.”

Ledoux finished with nine points and three rebounds. He shot 4 of 11 from the field.

Hill provided a boost off the bench for the Cowboys, shooting 5 of 6 for 12 points in 17 minutes in his best performance since the start of conference play on Dec. 28.

The loss left the Cowboys further in a hole in the SLC standings, as eighth-place Abilene Christian defeated Incarnate Word 80-69 Saturday, giving ACU a 1.5 game advantage on McNeese.

“We just have to keep fighting,” Wilson said. “We can’t quit. We have to have a fighting mentality.”

McNeese State Cowboys guard Kalob Ledoux (1) gets whistled for the charge on Southeastern Louisiana Lions forward Moses Greenwood (13) during their Southland Conference matchup at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, La., Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018. (Rick Hickman/Lake Charles American Press)

Rick Hickman