The final buzzer Saturday in Hammond could be an alarm for the Cowboys.

Whether it proves a wakeup call or a warning signal depends on how they respond Monday night in the Legacy Center.

For the first time since Thanksgiving, McNeese State will be coming off a loss when they host Texas A&M-Commerce at 7 p.m.

With their 14-game win streak snapped by Southeastern, the Cowboys will look to rebound quickly against the Southland Conference’s other pride of Lions.

“We will respond the right way,” first-year McNeese head coach Will Wade said. “You could see this coming. I’m disappointed I wasn’t able to stop it before we lost. I didn’t get my message through fast enough.”

The Cowboys were back at work Sunday with a spirited practice, focusing on defense and playing up to their standards.

“We have to pick everything up with our play,” said guard Shahada Wells. “We have seen we were being lazy and getting away from how we should play.”

Monday night will start the back half of the conference season with McNeese holding a one-game lead over second-place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. It is also the second time the Cowboys will play Commerce.

The Jan. 6 game in Texas was the SLC opener for both teams and the Cowboys had their struggles but rallied for a 73-67 victory. McNeese trailed 36-28 at the half.

Wells led the Cowboys with 25 points and 10 rebounds while Antovion Collum added 20. Jerome Brewer torched McNeese for 32 points to lead Commerce.

However, Brewer has not played since he was injured on Jan. 13 against Houston Christian after just nine minutes of play. He is traveling with the Lions but was not in uniform Saturday in a loss at Northwestern State. His status for tonight is in question.

That could help the Cowboys as they welcome Commerce (8-14, 2-7). Meanwhile, McNeese is coming off its 77-74 loss to Southeastern despite a wild comeback.

The Cowboys rallied from nine points down with just 29 seconds remaining to get two shots at tying the game in the final six seconds. Javohn Garcia missed on a pair of baseline three-pointers as McNeese fell in Hammond.

While the loss is cause for concern, it is not a crusher for the Cowboys. It does likely take away any hope of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the Southland.

“There is no panic, we are 19-3,” said Wade. “We just have to get back to playing to our standards.”

The Cowboys hope they can use the energy from their home crowd to help them bounce back. McNeese is 11-0 at home while the Lions are just 2-9 on the road.

Commerce will likely try to play physical to slow the Cowboys down and shoot three-pointers whenever they can. The Lions shot 30 times from long range in the first encounter, making eight, half of which were made by Brewer.

A better start would help. McNeese has had sluggish first halves the last three weeks.  Wade said he has considered changes to his rotation moving forward if needed.

Wells thinks it is a matter of the Cowboys taking control of the game from the start.

“We got to hit first, come out with that pop right away,” Wells said. “We want to set the tone.”

That will go a long way as McNeese looks to start a new winning streak.