Firing the first salvo in the battle of Southland Conference preseason favorites, the Cowboys kept their winning streak alive.

Knocking off Southeastern, the only team picked ahead of it, McNeese State sent a clear message that they are the top dog.

Using a fast start and a solid closing game, the Cowboys toppled SLU 74-65 Saturday before a sellout crowd inside the Legacy Center.

The win was McNeese’s ninth straight, the longest such run since the 2001-02 season when the Cowboys captured 17 in a row. That was the last time the Cowboys made the NCAA Tournament as well.

“This was a good win,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade. “We made plays when we needed to.”

McNeese improved to 14-2 overall and 3-0 in the Southland. Southeastern fell 6-10, 1-2.

“Coach said before we came out that this was personal,” said guard Shahada Wells. “We heard the interviews and their coach say people were tired hearing about McNeese.

“At the end of the day, we all got to put a jersey on and play. Guess we were the tougher team.”

After grabbing a 44-30 halftime lead, the Cowboys had to grind out the second half, seeing their lead cut to two (55-53) when Alec Woodard hit one of his six three-pointers with 8:29 remaining.

Woodard led the Lions with 20 points.

“He is a really good shooter and we let him get open shots,” said Wade. “The game got bogged down in the second half. We were playing in mud and that benefits Southeastern.

“We played on our terms in the first half and their terms in the second half.”

Wells was big in both halves, hitting for 12 points in the first 11 minutes as McNeese grabbed the lead. The transfer from TCU then went 22 minutes without a point before scoring eight to close things out.

Well’s three-point play with 5:41 left gave McNeese some breathing room at 61-55. Another Wells three-point play put the game away.

He grabbed an offense rebound and scored while being fouled with 1:15 left. Wells hit the free throw to give the Cowboys a 70-62.

Wells finished with 20 points while Javohn Garcia led the Cowboys with a season-high 22. Garcia hit four free throws in the final minute to finish things off.

“It’s not all about scoring,” said Wells. “I do what it takes to win.”

Garcia had his best game as a Cowboy, hitting 7 of 10 shots from the floor, including 4 of 5 from long range. That included three in the first six minutes.

“I saw the first shot go in and just got in rhythm,” said Garcia. “I feel like I got my shot back a bit.”

Christian Shumate finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. The junior forward surpassed 700 career rebounds (701) in the game.

He became the eighth player in program history to score 1,000 points and grab 700 rebounds in a career.

McNeese will be home again Monday night to take on Lamar (9-7, 3-0) in an early battle for first place.