After a rousing start to their conference schedule at home, the Cowboys hit the road starting Saturday.

McNeese State, one of four teams entering Southland Conference play this weekend 2-0, will begin a two-game trip with a stop in Commerce, Texas. The Cowboys are 8-5 overall after beating New Orleans and Southeastern last week, giving them three straight victories.

“We won at home, and we are supposed to win at home,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade. “We have to be much better when we take this show on the road.”

The Cowboys opened defense of their league championship with a pair of easy wins, outscoring their opponents 165-112. 

“It is going to get a lot tougher as we move deeper into the conference schedule,” said Wade. “We have to be ready.”

The Cowboys will take on East Texas A&M to start the trip before heading to Natchitoches to play Northwestern State on Monday. ETAM is 2-11, 0-2, while the Demons are 5-7, 2-0.

Both games will be streamed on ESPN+. Saturday’s contest will tip off at 2:15 p.m., while Monday’s game will start at 6:30 p.m. 

“Last year, we opened at Commerce, and that was a tough game,” said Wade. “So was the game at Northwestern State. We had to win both those games at the end.

“We want to do better and play better this time. There will be no surprises this season; they will be ready for us.”

McNeese players know what to expect. They used the first two games of the league season to send a message they are not about to give up their title easily.

“We definitely want to send a message to the league,” said guard Javohn Garcia. “We are still here. We are still going to fight for the No. 1 spot.”

The Cowboys’ defense has been much better lately despite missing four key players over the weekend. McNeese has forced 38 turnovers and had 19 steals over the last two games.

In both of their league games, the defense led to 16-3 starts for the Cowboys.

“Our defense has been good,” said Wade. “We have come out aggressive and turned the turnovers into points. We have to keep doing that.”

McNeese hopes to get some of those missing pieces back. While Alyn Breed (knee) and Omar Cooper (appendix) are out, two others could return. Guard Sincere Parker and swingman Brandon Murray have improved enough to where Wade said they were day to day. 

The missing players changed the McNeese rotation, with Richards and Quadir Copeland stepping into starting roles. Richards has hit 10 3-pointers in the two league games, averaging 15 points.

Copeland, who has taken over the point guard role, has been solid. He averages 11 points and nine assists per outing.

Garcia has averaged 23 points in the two league games, including a career-best 26 points against Southeastern on Monday night. That is the highest average in Southland play, and has raised his season average to 12.4.

“I’m just trying to take what the defense is doing,” said Garcia. “I try to read them and then attack.”

McNeese has used its strong defense to jump to 44th in the country in points allowed, at 65.1 per game, which is also good for second in the league. 

When it comes to conference games, the Cowboys are at the top in both scoring and defense. They score at an 82.5 clip while allowing just 56. 

Now, they will try to keep it going.