The Cowboys can claim their second straight conference title on Saturday by taking care of business and with help from a friend.

McNeese begins its final homestand of the season by hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi inside the Legacy Center. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.

With a victory and a Lamar loss at Houston Christian, the Cowboys will claim back-to-back Southland Conference titles for the first time since 2002.  

“That’s what we want next,” said forward Christian Shumate. “We want to win it at home.”

With four games remaining, the Cowboys (21-6, 15-1) hold a three-game lead over Lamar, putting their magic number at two. If both them and Lamar win, McNeese fans must wait until Monday against Texas-Rio Grande Valley for a possible clinching.

“We want to win it as soon as possible,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade. 

The Cowboys clinched the first of two double-byes in the upcoming SLC postseason tournament last Monday at Southeastern, giving them a free pass to the semifinal round. 

“We are happy for the double-bye,” said Wade. “That was step one. Now we want the championship and the No. 1 seed.”

The Islanders (17-11, 10-6) also have a lot to play for. They have a shot in second place and the other in double-bye.

“They are going to come in ready to play,” said Wade. “Over the past two years, nobody in the league has played us tougher than Corpus.”

Since Wade came to McNeese two years ago, the Cowboys have been 3-0 against the Islanders after 16 straight defeats. However, none of those wins have been easy.

The three McNeese wins were by nine points, with the two in Corpus Christi being by just one each. That includes a 74-73 victory on Jan. 27 in Texas.

“We still have a lot of payback,” Shumate said after last year’s win. “They beat us for a long time.”

Javohn Garcia led the Cowboys in the first meeting, finishing with 14 points. DJ Richards and Brandon Murray each added 11. Shumate’s runner in the paint with 2:42 remaining gave McNeese the lead for good in January. 

Garry Clark and Jordan Roberts each had 22 points for the Islanders. Clark, 9 of 16 from the field, also had 14 rebounds. 

Roberts was 5 of 7 on three-point shots. 

“We have to do a better job on Clark and Roberts this time,” said Wade. “They really hurt us. Clark kills us every game.”

Clark has averaged 15.6 points and 11 rebounds in the last three meetings. 

“We have to be better than we were at Corpus,” said Wade. “This will be a tough, physical game, we know that. That’s the way they play. We have to match their physicality.”

The Cowboys will be looking for help from the home crowd. They are 29-1 on Joe Dumars Court in the last two seasons and 19-0 against Southland opponents.

Their only loss was at the hands of Santa Clara this season. 

Joe Charles scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in last Monday’s win over Southeastern, which knocked the Lions out of title contention. Garcia scored 18 points and grabbed six boards. 

“Joe is one of the most consistent players we have had this season,” said Wade. “You always know what you are going to get from him.”

Richards continued his hot shooting, making 4 of 7 3-pointers and finishing with 14 points. Over the last four games, Richards has made 18 of his 32 3-point attempts.