BREAKING: McNeese rallies, fights off Cajuns
Published 8:00 pm Sunday, December 17, 2023
- (Leighton Chamblee / McNeese Athletics)
It’s a rivalry now.
Wanting to put teeth back into their battles with Louisiana-Lafayette after eight straight losses, the Cowboys took a big bite out of their neighbors from the east Sunday afternoon.
In front of the first official sellout crowd in Legacy Center history, McNeese State rallied from 13 points down in the second half to knock off the Cajuns 74-72.
It was the first time since 2014 the Pokes knocked off Lafayette as they improved to 10-2. It has been 51 years since McNeese began a season winning 10 of their first 12.
“Just a wild game,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade, who earlier in the week said his Cowboys had to win to make the Cajuns’ games a real rivalry.
Maybe the way they won this one will be enough.
After a battle for a loose ball in front of the ULL bench led to a brush up that saw three McNeese players, including two starters, get kicked out and three technical fouls called on the Cowboys, the Pokes responded.
Center Antavion Collum, guard Omar Cooper, and team captain Wesley Fields were all given the boot for leaving the McNeese bench in the scuffle. DJ Richards and C.J. Felder were whistled for technical fouls.
After a long delay, Wade was hit with the third McNeese technical, and the Cajuns were given six free throws. Kentrell Garnett hit five of the six shots and when Blake Butler sank a 3-pointer with 11:16 left the Cajuns were up 55-42.
That’s when McNeese got serious.
The Cowboys responded with a 19-4 run over the next 4:21 to claim a 61-59 lead with 6:55 to play. Javohn Garcia hit the three to put the Pokes ahead and set the stage for a wild finish.
“We have been down before,” said McNeese forward Christian Shumate. “We just stuck together.”
The teams played close until the end when Richards’ three with 47.3 seconds left gave McNeese a 73-72 lead. The Pokes then missed three of four free throws but saw the Cajuns come up short as well.
For the Pokes this could be the biggest win in program history all things considered.
“If you are going to run us over, you better kick it back in reverse and roll over us again,” said Wade. “Don’t leave us with a breath in our body or we will fight you until the end.”
Shahada Wells led McNeese with 18 points while Richards added 17. Shumate had 12 points and seven rebounds along with two monster dunks that helped fuel the comeback and fire up the crowd of 4,300.
“Our crowd was unbelievable,” said Shumate. “This is what they can do for us. This is the type of crowd we need.”
The building was electric from the start until fans stormed Joe Dumars Court at the end. McNeese players even got involved by jumping up on the media table to lead the cheers.
“Today was crazy,” said Wells. “This is what we had hoped for at the start of the year, to get this community involved.”
The loss dropped ULL to 6-5 on the season
“We were one basket away from stealing this game,” said Cajun head coach Bob Marlin. “I think we gave them a better game than they have had in this gym this year. I’m sure it was the best atmosphere for McNeese basketball in 20 years.”
Probably more.
“I think it has always been a rivalry for our fans,” said Marlin.
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Garnett led all scores with 19 for the Cajuns, but they managed just seven 3-pointers the same as McNeese.
The Cowboys trailed 33-28 at halftime after Collum connected on a 3-point play with four seconds before the break.
But the second half things went crazy and McNeese found a way to win.
“I told our kids it was our time today,” said Wade.
He was right.
