Whether it was a tune-up or a wind-down, the Cowboys found a way to keep rolling in New Orleans.

Behind the play of their two Southland Conference Player of the Year candidates, Christian Shumate and Shahada Wells, McNeese State found enough energy to knock off UNO 81-57 in the regular season finale Wednesday night inside Lakefront Arena.

The victory was the Cowboys’ ninth straight and third in five days, as they keep their momentum heading into the Southland Tournament, which will open in the Legacy Center Sunday.

McNeese is a perfect 16-0 on its home floor with an average winning margin of 26.1 points. The Cowboys are considered the prohibitive favorite to win the tournament and earn the league’s lone NCAA bid.

McNeese won’t play until the semifinal round on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. against any one of four opponents. The final seedings will be complete Thursday night when Nicholls and Southeastern battle.

For McNeese, the win over the Privateers improved their record to 28-3 overall, the most victories ever in the regular season. The Cowboys finished SLC play 17-1 after winning their 23rd game in their last 24 tries.

“It has been a magical regular season,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade. “Now we got to turn the page and get ready for tournament basketball.

“I like where we are and how we are competing.”

UNO fell to 6-22, 4-14 but backed into the tournament as the eighth and final seed. The Privateers will open the tourney Sunday at 5 p.m. against fifth-seeded Southeastern.

Shumate once again was the big gun for McNeese as he collected the 33rd double-double of his career, setting the program record in the process. He is fourth all-time in the SLC after collecting his sixth double-double over the last eight games. 

Shumate finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds but he wasn’t alone. Javohn Garcia and DJ Richards each also had 15 while Wells ended with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

In all, 10 of the 11 Cowboys who played scored.

“We didn’t have a lot to play for tonight and our guys showed up,” said Wade. “It wasn’t our best game but we were very workmanlike.”

Jordan Johnson, the league’s leading scorer, finished with a game-high 21 points to lead the Privateers but shot just 4 of 17 from the field and 2 of 8 on three-point tries.

There were some early struggles for McNeese on offense, but the Cowboy defense remained solid as it held UNO to its lowest point total in conference play. That helped the Cowboys grab a 41-30 lead at the half. 

The Privateers made a run at McNeese to start the second half, cutting the lead to 41-36 on a Jamond Vincent runner with 17:26 remaining. The Cowboys responded with a 10-3 run with Wells scoring the final four points to reclaim the momentum. 

From there McNeese pulled away for the easy victory. 

Cowboy center C.J. Felder stayed in Lake Charles with an illness and is expected to be ready for the tournament.