McNeese rally falls short against Cajuns, 75-65
Published 6:00 pm Sunday, December 20, 2020
Raymond Partsch III, Special to the American Press
LAFAYETTE – The Cowboys didn’t make it easy for their old I-10 rivals.
McNeese trailed UL-Lafayette by as many as 20 points in the second half of Saturday night’s non-conference game at the Cajundome. The Cowboys though managed to cut the Ragin’ Cajuns lead down to a mere two points halfway through the second half.
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Eventually, McNeese would lose the hard-fought game, 75-65, but the effort shown in the second half impressed Cowboys coach Heath Schroyer.
“I think we showed a lot of grit and determination. Obviously I am disappointed in the outcome but I was really encouraged,” Schroyer said. “In the first 20 minutes we couldn’t buy a basket. In the second half we found a good lineup. We had a couple of uncostly mistakes down the stretch but I was really proud of our guys.”
McNeese (4-3) found itself down early as UL-Lafayette started off the game with a 7-0 run. By the 10:09 mark, the Ragin’ Cajuns had built up a 22-5 lead.
“I think their length was a lot bigger and that really cost us problems early,” Schroyer said. “We had 12 shots within eight feet of the basket and made only two of them. I just think their length caught us off guard.”
McNeese managed to cut the lead to 28-13 after four free throws and a dunk by Collin Warren. UL-Lafayette responded with a short scoring burst and led 36-18 at the break. The Cowboys shot 20.7 percent from the field in the first half, while the Ragin’ Cajuns shot 47.1 percent.
“We were making shots, we executed, and we were aggressively coaching each position,” Ragin’ Cajuns coach Bob Marlin said.
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The Ragin’ Cajuns extended their lead to 44-24 with 16:33 remaining but that’s when the Cowboys came to life.
McNeese answered with an 11-0 run and then moments later cut it down after Collin Warren made a layup and drained the ensuing free throw. With 12:54 in the game, McNeese trailed 46-38.
The Cowboys then made it a single-possession game when Keyshawn Feazell made a pair of free throws with 8:01 on the clock. The Ragin’ Cajuns once massive lead was down to two points.
UL-Lafayette though responded with a 8-0 run and then successfully maintained a 10-point lead for the rest of the game. The win is the sixth straight by the Ragin’ Cajuns in the series that dates back to 1951.
“We took some bad shots,” Schoryer said. “We had a turnover and they stepped up and made a few big plays. Sometimes you have to tip your hat when they come up with shots, and they made two fade away shots down the stretch.
“I think we just ran out of gas at the end, especially with all the energy we had to use to mount the comeback,” Schroyer added.
The Ragin’ Cajuns had four players score in double figures, including Dou Gueye posting a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Cedric Russell with a game-high 23.
The Cowboys were led by Feazell who had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Warren came off the bench to score 14 points. Kuxhausen, who entered the game as the team’s leading scorer, remains No. 7 on the school’s career made three-point list as the Cowboy star went 0-for-3 from beyond the arc and scored only three points in the loss.
The game on Saturday between the old Gulf States and Southland Conference rivals, was put together on short notice due to COVID-19 issues that impacted both teams’ schedules.
For Schroyer it was important to get this final game in before the Christmas break. McNeese won’t return to action until they Champion Christian College on back-to-back nights on Dec. 29 and 30 before opening up SLC play on Jan. 2 at home against Central Arkansas.
“This group needs games,” Schroyer said. “They need to be in situations when it is time to score, to come out of timeout and execute. The only way you can do that is through experience.”
Rick Hickman
