We were warned the Cowboys were a work in progress. 

Monday we found out just how much work needs to be done.

Traveling to Sioux Falls, S.D., to take on a solid mid-major program, McNeese State was sloppy at times both on offense and defense, especially in key moments inside the Sanford Pentagon.

That proved too much to overcome, as the Cowboys fell 80-73 to South Dakota State on opening night. The game was the last of three played in the inaugural Field of 68 Showcase.

“We are not as far along as we need to be,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade. “Hopefully we can learn from this. It’s all stuff we can fix. We will be alright.”

The Jackrabbits scored the final five points after a Christian Shumate free throw cut the lead to 75-73 with 1:29 remaining. Shumate missed the second of his two shots but Joe Charles snagged the rebound and the Cowboys had three chances to tie or take the lead.

Shumate’s 3-point try with just under a minute remaining from the left corner was their last chance.

“I liked the shots we got there, they didn’t go in,” said Wade. “We missed some critical shots down the stretch. We are not mature enough as a group yet.”

SDSU’s Owen Larson followed Shumate’s miss with a 3-pointer to put the Cowboys down 78-73 with 43 seconds remaining.

“I just let it fly,” Larson said. “That shot was going up wherever I got it.”

McNeese was unable to respond after that.

“We will get there, we just need to be tested,” said Wade. “They are a very good team, we knew that. We have to get better with our attention to details.”

Behind one big transfer and four freshmen, the Jackrabbits outshot and outmuscled the Cowboys. The four freshmen — Jay Sayler, Jayden Jackson, Stoney Hadnot and Larson — combine for 53 points, making 12 of 28 from behind the 3-point line. 

Meanwhile, senior transfer Oscar Cluff controlled the inside.

The 6-foot-11, 260-pounder who moved over from Washington State in the offseason, finished with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, also keeping McNeese from getting good looks in the paint.

He helped give SDSU a surprising 43-29 advantage on the boards, including 12 offensive rebounds for a 13-1 margin on second-chance points.

“We faded away some from the big guys,” said Wade. “We have to do a better job taking it right at them.”

Sayler led the Jackrabbits with 18 points, making 4 of 7 on his 3-point tries. Three of those came in the first half. 

Larson finished with 14 while Hadnot had 12 and Jackson nine.

Alyn Breed ended with 18 points as well to lead the Cowboys. Javhon Garcia added 15 points and Shumate had 11 but missed a double-double by one rebound, finishing with nine. 

The Cowboys fell down by 10 with 10 minutes left before Breed scored four quick points to start their comeback. McNeese kept chipping away until the final moments, but could never get back the lead after scoring the first six points of the second half.

Three-pointers by Breed and Garcia gave the Cowboys a 39-33 advantage in the first minute after intermission. It was part of a 12-0 run over a span of 1:34 between the first and second halves.

The Cowboys finished the opening 20 minutes on a flurry thanks to DJ Richards.

The sharpshooter hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final 25 seconds to tie the game at 33 after McNeese had been outplayed for most of the opening half.

The Cowboys found themselves down 24-14, after the first 14 minutes on a Cluff basket. That ended a 9-0 run as McNeese missed 13 of 14 shots from the floor during the stretch. 

Sincere Parker’s jumper kickstarted the McNeese offense that scored 19 points over the final 5:45 after getting just 14 in the early going. Before Richards’ threes, McNeese had missed seven of their first eight shots from long range.

“We did not play well through their physicality,” said Wade. 

McNeese will open the home portion of their schedule Thursday night against the College of Biblical Studies inside the Legacy Center. The game will be part of a doubleheader with the women’s team.

Next Monday the Pokes will step up even higher in competition when they travel to play No. 2 Alabama. It will be the second time McNeese will play the second-ranked team in the country. 

The Cowboys opened the 2023-24 campaign with a 98-56 loss to No. 2 Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich.