Career day for Archie

Published 9:31 pm Saturday, January 10, 2026

Guard’s 25 points lead Cowboys

As Javohn Garcia lay on the floor with just under five minutes left and the Cowboys struggling to put Southeastern away, the Townsley Law Arena was quietly concerned.

McNeese led by seven with 4:40 remaining Saturday afternoon and would now have to go the rest of the way without their most clutch player.

Sophomore Tyshawn Archie made sure there would be no Lions upset. He scored five quick points as the Cowboys held off SELA 73-61 to set up their first-place showdown Monday against Nicholls. 

“We just had to stay focused, stay confident,” said Archie. “We just wanted to keep going.”

Archie finished with a career-high 25 points as the Cowboys improved to 13-3, 6-1 in the Southland Conference. It was their 21st straight home win overall and 29th against the SLC.

McNeese also improved to 41-1 at home over the last three seasons and 46-3 against the conference. Southeastern fell to 5-11, 2-5. 

“Happy that we found a way to win, that’s what league games are all about,” said McNeese head coach Bill Armstrong. “Tonight it was about the bench. They played great.

Behind Archie, McNeese’s reserves outscored their Southeastern counterparts 52-15. 

“Ty was hot and we put the ball in his hand,” said Armstrong. “We could not put them away until the very end.”

Garcia was the only McNeese player to join Archie in double figures with 10 points in under 17 minutes. 

The Cowboys got a boost from Yanis Ndjonga and Peitok Machar. Ndjonga finished with seven points and nine rebounds while Machar added eight points and four boards.

“I felt like we were the toughest team today,” said Ndjonga. 

Armstrong also praised the play of Jacolb Fredson-Cole. The three inside players combine to score 21 points and grab 17 rebounds, all off the bench.

The Lions got off to a fast start, scoring the first seven points of the game. It made for a quick move to the bench for Armstrong, who brought in four new players before two minutes had expired. 

McNeese started to rally on Machar’s dunk and a Garcia 3-pointer. They would finally take the lead on Archie’s first basket, a 3-pointer with 16:11 left in the first half. That put the Cowboys up 14-12 and they never trailed again.

McNeese went on a 16-4 run to lead 30-16 as the Lions went 7:41 without a point. The Cowboys led 40-27 at the half. 

Southeastern scored the first seven points of the second half to get back into the game, cutting the lead to 40-34 before two Garcia free throws got McNeese going. 

The lead stayed between five and nine points until Garcia fouled out and Archie took over. 

“We expected it to be a game like this,” said Armstrong. “We knew they would not quit.”

Nicholls stayed undefeated in the league with a 90-77 victory over New Orleans. The Colonels (8-8, 7-0) will meet the Cowboys at 6:30 p.m. Monday.