Struggling once again to find their game, the Cowboys had to grind out their second straight victory Monday night in Natchitoches.

McNeese State has been far from at its best since the calendar changed to 2024, which also is when they opened Southland Conference play.

Despite another slow start, the Cowboys managed to slug their way to a 68-59 victory against pesky Northwestern State. 

The win marked the first time in 40 years that the Pokes have opened league play 2-0 on the road. It was also their eighth straight victory overall, the longest winning streak in 12 seasons. 

McNeese is now 13-2 overall while the Demons fell to 2-13, 0-2.

“We are not apologizing, a win is a win,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade. “They are never easy to win on the road. Give Northwestern State credit, they played us tough.”

Shahada Wells led all scorers with 18 points despite being in early foul trouble. Wells added six rebounds, five assists, and four steals to his night for the Cowboys. 

Antavion Collum scored 12 points and Javohn Garcia added 11 for McNeese, which also got six points and 10 rebounds from Christian Shumate. 

“We didn’t finish well,” said Wade. “Whenever we got going to pull away they (Northwestern State) hit a basket.”

Cliff Harris had 17 points to lead the Demons while former Cowboy guard Braelon Bush tossed in 11, all in the second half.

McNeese led the entire second half but was never able to finish off the Demons. They didn’t put NSU away until DJ Richards hit a three-pointer with 46 seconds left to put the Pokes up 63-52. 

“We had a bunch of guys step up and make plays,” said Wade. “We have to learn from this and play better moving forward.”

McNeese started and ended the first half scoring five straight points. However, the first run was matched by the Demons, who answered with nine straight as the Pokes went cold. 

Wells started slow, picking up two quick fouls in the first six minutes. But the Cowboys rallied to six straight and led 11-9 on Collum’s three-point shot midway through the half. 

After Davis hit his third three of the half to tie the game at 26-26, McNeese scored the final five points on a C.J. Felder dunk and Richards’ three-pointer to lead 31-26 at the break.

“We know we are going to get everybody’s fastball,” Wade said. “That’s what these two road games taught us.”

McNeese will return to the Legacy Center Saturday when the Cowboys host preseason favorite Southeastern at 4 p.m. as part of a men’s and women’s doubleheader.

Next Monday the Pokes will welcome Lamar at 7 p.m. Those will be the first games for McNeese at home since Dec. 17 when they rallied to beat Louisiana-Lafayette.  

“We haven’t been home in a long time,” Wade said. “We are looking forward to it.”