Down to eight players and facing a rival, the Cowboys found a way to come together at the right time last Saturday.

Now they face a 48-hour stretch that will set the stage for the final three games of the regular season.

But before McNeese State (4-5, 10-16 Southland) can get to those last games they have to play the conference’s top two teams — on the road.

That gauntlet starts tonight when the Cowboys travel to play Nicholls State before moving on to play SLC-leader New Orleans on Saturday.

The Colonels (16-9, 6-2 SLC) have won their last five games and their last four against the Cowboys.

“It’s a tough pair of games,” said McNeese head coach John Aiken. “Those are the best two teams in the league.”

McNeese is 1-2 against the pair, losing both games in Lake Charles in late January. However, the Cowboys beat UNO in the preconference tournament.

“We know we can play with them but we have to finish out games,” Aiken said. “We have to stay connected, especially on defense.”

McNeese will face three of the top four scorers in the league on the trip, starting with Nicholls’ Ty Gordon.

The senior guard is averaging 19.3 points a game and leads the conference with 73 3-pointers. Gordon had 24 points in the first meeting, an 81-71 Nicholls win on Jan. 27.

“We have to find a way to stop Gordon,” Aiken said. “We can’t let him get clean looks.”

McNeese turned the ball over 18 times and had no player score more than 13 points.

Aiken said the Cowboys are expected to get some help back this week. Jonathan Massie is on track to return from injury after working out earlier this week.

However, Harwin Francois is likely out with a knee injury, he said. As for suspended players Collin Warren and Kellon Taylor, who missed last game after getting into an altercation at halftime against Southeastern Louisiana, both could play, Aiken said.

Aiken said Warren is expected back while Taylor still has things to do.

“We hope to have them both, but we will see,” Aiken said.

Five players are scoring 10 or more points for the Cowboys, led by freshman transfer Christian Shumate at 12. Shumate has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games, averaging 17.5 points over that stretch.