LAFAYETTE — Kobe Julien found his shot. The Cowboys are still searching for theirs.

That difference proved costly Wednesday night in the Cajundome.

Still searching to find constant outside shooting, McNeese State struggled in the I-10 showdown, falling 83-68 to Louisiana-Lafayette. The loss was the fourth straight for the Cowboys, who fell to 3-7 on the season. The Cajuns improved to 5-3 and have won the last seven meetings between the two programs.

McNeese has just one game remaining on their current six-game road trip.

“We might be playing too many guys and our guys are not getting into any rhythm,” said McNeese head coach John Aiken. “I got to figure that out.”

Julien made his first shot of the night, a 3-pointer, and never slowed down. The 6-foot, 6 redshirt freshman from Baton Rouge came into the game averaging just 8.7 points a contest. He more than doubled that by halftime.

Julien finished with a game-high 20 on 6-for-8 shooting including a perfect 4 of 4 from behind the 3-point line. He had 18 of his points in the first half.

“Kobe got us off to a great start,” said Cajun head coach Bob Marlin. “He really lifted us in the first half.”

Jordan Brown finished with a double-double for Lafayette, scoring 16 points with 16 rebounds.

McNeese was led by Miles Lewis’ 14 points.

The Cowboys started off fast, leading 29-25 with 5:20 left in the opening half. That’s when they went cold from the floor and Lafayette got hot. The Cajuns finished the half on a 20-6 run to grab a 45-35 lead at the break. Back-to-back 3s by Kentrell Garnett started the run.

“It got away from us there,” said Aiken. “Maybe I should have used a time out.”

McNeese made a run again at the start of the second half, cutting the lead to five at one point but once again shooting cost the Pokes. They shot just 38 percent from the floor and 23.8% on 3s.

Meanwhile, the Cajuns were 46 percent from the field and 11 of 21 (52.4 percent) on 3 points.