Cowboys open conference play, seek first victory against Division I opponent
Published 7:15 pm Saturday, January 2, 2021
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Raymond Partsch III, Special to the American Press
Heath Schroyer firmly believes his team is on the rise.
“I think we have a chance to be pretty good,” said the McNeese men’s basketball coach. “I like our group. I think we have a chance to be good. I’ve said it all along, we’re going to go through some growing pains as the year goes along but I think by the end, we have a chance to be pretty good.”
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Schroyer said he’s hopeful that those growing pains are behind them as the Cowboys (6-3) open Southland Conference play at against Central Arkansas (1-7) at 4 p.m. today at Burton Coliseum, after the women’s 1 p.m. game.
The Bears have played seven of their eight games on the road. Their lone home game was a 92-28 victory over Champion Christian College.
All six of the Cowboys’ wins have come against non-Division I schools, including two against Champion Christian.
Part of the Cowboys’ growing pains is defensive consistency.
In Wednesday night’s final nonconference game against Champion Christian, McNeese gave up 76 points as the winless Tigers shot 56.1 percent from the field, and 47.1 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
That came one night after holding the same team to a mere 36 points on 32 percent shooting, and 14.3 from 3-point range.
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“We didn’t play particularly well,” Schroyer said after Wednesday’s game. “Disappointed in a lot of areas, especially defensively. But the preseason is over and now we move on to league (play).
“It’s always hard when you beat a team by 60 points and then come back and play them again.
“I think we got better as the preseason went along but we have to get ready for the league and a very good UCA team that’s coming in here,” Schoryer added. “They beat us twice last year, so they kind of have our number.”
A strength of the Cowboys is their offensive balance and efficiency. McNeese has shot 50 percent or better in seven of nine games, and has six players averaging double digits.
“That’s the strength of our team, having multiple guys having a chance to step up and make plays and score the ball each night,” Schroyer said.
“We’re at a point in the program where we have multiple options and have guys that can come off the bench and really help us. Especially this year with COVID, you don’t know who will be active on your team from one week to another so you better have some quality players on your bench and I think we do.”
McNeese won’t know if one of those double-digit scorers will be available for today’s SLC opener. Senior forward KeyShawn Feazell (13 points, 13 rebounds per game) has missed two games due to a positive COVID test and his status for the game is questionable.
“We need KeyShawn back, not only from a basketball standpoint but from a locker room and maturity,” Schroyer said. “He’s a real connector on the floor.”
If Feazell is unable to go, McNeese will likely turn to redshirt freshman guard Collin Warren to pick up the scoring slack. Warren has scored in double figures in each of the last six games while averaging 15 points per game.
“I think Collin is having a great freshman year,” Schroyer said. “He’s grown a lot and starting to take coaching. I’m really excited about the future with him. I think he’s got a tremendous upside as he continues to get better and learn the game. He’s got a chance to have a great career.”
Rick Hickman / American Press
