Harrell comes off the bench to lead Cowboys in scoring in 94-36 win

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese returned to the hardwood following a 10-day break from its last game and responded by having six players score in double-figures, led by a career-high mark of 16 points by Jeremy Harrell as the Cowboys ran away with a 94-36 win over Champion Christian on Tuesday night.

The two teams will meet up again on Wednesday night at 6:30 in Burton Coliseum in the final game before Southland Conference play gets started on Saturday at home against Central Arkansas.

Chris Orlina and Collin Warren each scored 15 points followed by Carlos Rosario with 13 and Dru Kuxhausen and A.J. Lawson with 11 each.

McNeese (5-3) led 46-20 at the half after shooting 54 percent (19-35) from the field. The Cowboys connected on 50 percent in the second half but held the Tigers to just 27 percent shooting and 16 points in the final 20 minutes.

The Tigers turned the ball over 27 times, leading to 38 Cowboy points, and during a three minute stretch late in the second half, Champion Christian turned the ball over on seven straight possessions.

The Cowboys held a 48-28 advantage in rebounds with Rosario grabbing nine to lead the team while Lawson dished out a game-high six assists. Braelon Bush, the league’s No. 1 player in assists per game, threw out four dimes to go along with three steals and seven points.

McNeese played without leading rebounder KeyShawn Feazell who has been quarantined due to the COVID-19 virus. He’ll also miss Wednesday’s game. Zach Scott did not play after he sprained his ankle during warm-ups.

Quoting Head Coach Heath Schroyer:
“I thought we came out really well. We were obviously short-handed without KeyShawn (Feazell) and Zach (Scott) twisted his ankle during shoot-around so he wasn’t able to play. I thought we did some good things. Anytime you’re able to win by a large amount, it’s a good thing. There’s always things we can improve on, but after a 10-day layoff, I thought we did some good things.

“Jeremy (Harrell) has done really well. I thought he had some really good minutes tonight. He was able to finish plays and his pick-and-roll coverage was really good.

“We’ve had nine Division I game canceled. We’re just trying to play as many games against as many people as we can. We know come league time, it’s going to get consistent real quick. I like our group and I think we have a chance to be good and just continue to get better every day.

“What I like about this team is that we have six or seven guys that can score in double-figures and that makes us really hard to defend.”

Game Notes:
• With three 3s made on the night, Dru Kuxhausen moved into sixth on the school’s all-time three-pointers made list, giving him 156 and moving him past Michael Cutright for the spot. He needs one more to match Damon Wordlaw for fifth.
• McNeese is 5-0 at home to start the season for the second straight year.
• It’s the fourth game this season McNeese has had six players score in double-figures.
• The Cowboys’ margin of victory on Tuesday night was by 58 points. In their five wins, McNeese has won by margins of 103, 43, 46, 64 and 58, for an average of 62.8 per win.
• In coming off the bench, Collin Warren has scored double-digits in five straight games, averaging 14.8 ppg in 21.4 minutes of action during that span.