Will Wade’s debut proved to be DJ Richards’ coming out party.

Wade made his first appearance on the Cowboy bench Wednesday night, entering the Legacy Center through smoke and to thunderous cheers from the crowd of 3,494.

Then Richards, a sophomore transfer from Texas-San Antonio, stole the show – if that was possible.

Richards fired in a career-high 24 points as McNeese State toppled Southern Mississippi 67-48 to improve to 9-2, the Cowboys’ best start since 1976.

“He (Wade) walked out of that tunnel and the whole place erupted,” said McNeese forward Christian Shumate, who finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. “That got us all fired up.”

For Wade, winning was the big thing, but he was happy to return to the sidelines.

“Great being back with the guys,” said Wade, who had to sit out the first 10 games with an NCAA suspension. “This is what we want here. This is how we envisioned it.”

Richards was the key to keeping the crowd fired up, hitting six threes as McNeese took out the two-time defending Sun Belt Conference champs. The Cowboys are now 5-2 against other Mid-Majors.

“Why shouldn’t we beat some of these teams,” said Wade. “That’s what I was hired for. No limits on how good we should be.”

For now they are pretty good.

Shumate finished with a double double, ending with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Shahada Wells added 13 points while Omar Cooper had 12.

But it was Richards who was the main shooter. Richards came off the bench and hit a pair of 3-pointers during an 11-0 McNeese run in the first half to give the Cowboys a 21-10 lead with 11:36 before halftime.

“I was in the moment,” said Richards. “My teammates put me in the right situation.”

The Cowboys led 38-26 at the half but the Golden Eagles (5-5) cut that margin to six, 41-35, four minutes into the second half. Then Richards stepped up again, hitting back-to-back threes to extend the lead back to 12 (49-37).

Southern Miss. never really threatened after that.

“It was a fun game,” said Richards. “Even though it’s business, I’m just trying to have fun.”

The win came at the end of a long day for the Cowboys, who found out transfers C.J. Felder and Mike Saunders were cleared to play after awaiting an NCAA waiver.

Wade said he expects Felder to play Sunday against Louisiana-Lafayette. Despite all the issues surrounding the day, the Cowboys stayed focused.

“We keep our head where our feet are at,” said Shumate. “Can only worry about what is in front of us.”

Victor Hart and Donovon Ivory each had 12 points to lead the Eagles, as the McNeese defense smothered the visitors. USM shot just 27.9 percent from the floor while the Cowboys ended hitting 40.6 percent.

McNeese also won the rebounding battle 48-44.

“To be able to out rebound them, I never dreamed we would be able to out rebound them,” said Wade.

The coach wanted to make sure he gave credit to the players on his big night.

“I’m just the face of this,” said Wade. “It’s really about the players. It’s the horse, it isn’t the jockey. You aren’t winning the Kentucky Derby on a donkey.”

Right now Wade’s riding a winning horse.