Will Wade considered this the toughest weekend of the season for his Cowboys.

The first half proved to be a piece of cake.

Having dispatched Texas-Rio Grande Valley by 30 points Saturday, McNeese State looks to apply a huge punch Monday night in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“This is a very tough trip,” said Wade. “We are going to have to be focused.”

The Cowboys will enter their showdown with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and have a chance to dominate the Southland Conference.

Already up two games on the Islanders, McNeese will have a chance to take a 3-game lead midway through the conference. With 10 games remaining, it would be hard to imagine Corpus Christi or anybody else catching the Cowboys.

McNeese is looking to repeat as Southland champs for the first time in program history. They have won 10 straight games, are 9-0 in the league, and 15-5 overall. 

Over the last two seasons, the Pokes have won 28 of 29 league games and 20 straight, tied for second-best all-time in the conference and currently the top team in the nation. They are also 12-1 on the road over that span.

“We have our road standards,” said McNeese forward Christian Shumate. “We just have to stay focused and play to our standards.”

The Islanders, 14-7, 7-2, are desperate to stay in the race. The regular-season champion will earn the No. 1 seed in the SLC postseason tournament, which McNeese will host in early March. 

“It is a big deal to get that top seed,” said Wade. “Not only do you get the double-bye into the semifinals, but you get the extra rest for the title game if you win your first one. I think that helped us last year.”

Until last season, the Islanders had dominated McNeese, winning 16 straight. The Cowboys swept last year’s two games, but it wasn’t easy. 

McNeese needed Shumate to score off a missed rebound with 0.5 seconds remaining to win in Texas, 62-61. Monday’s game will tip off at 7 p.m. in the American Bank Center.

Shumate has been hot of late, picking up back-to-back double-doubles last week. That gives him three for the season and 37 for his career. 

He also picked up his 1,000th career rebound, finishing with 12 points and 10 boards. Joe Charles also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against UTRGV.

Quadir Copeland led McNeese with 21 points and eight assists. 

The 93-63 win was McNeese’s largest margin of victory this year against Division I competition. 

The Islanders are 11-1 at home this season and coming off a 61-57 win over Nicholls Saturday. Gary Clark scored 20 points in the win.