McNeese downs HBU in tight road win

HOUSTON – Zach Scott and Dru Kuxhausen sank two free throws each in the final 7.7 seconds and a last second desperation three-pointer by HBU fell off the mark as McNeese picked up its first Southland Conference and road win of the season, 74-71 here Saturday afternoon.

McNeese (7-8, 1-5 SLC) led 38-29 at the half but HBU (2-12, 1-5) stormed out of the gate in the second half with a 24-4 run in the first seven minutes to take a 53-42 lead. But McNeese didn’t fold and began chipping away at the lead, cutting the margin to five points at 53-48 following an A.J. Lawson layup with 10:31 to play.

“I’m really happy for our guys,” said head coach Heath Schroyer. “This was a great team win for us. These guys have been through so much over the last few weeks with injuries and COVID, I’m just really happy for them.

“They’re (HBU) a dangerous team. I told our guys they play the same whether they’re down 10 points or up 10 and we knew they had a run in them.”

HBU answered with a 7-2 run, ending on a Za-Ontay Boothman three-pointer to put the Huskies up 60-50 with 8:28 to play.

Carlos Rosario, who led the Cowboys with 17 points, got the fire going again with a three-point play then after a Huskie turnover, Kuxhausen knocked down a three-pointer to pull the Cowboys to within 60-56 at the 7:43 mark.

KeyShawn Feazell got into the action after scoring four straight points, the first basket after an offensive board and putback, then he followed that up with a monster dunk to make it a 64-60 deficit with 5:58 to play. A Rosario offensive rebound and foul sent him to the line where he made both free throws, then after a Huskie miss, Kuxhausen tied things up with a floating jumper, making it 64-64 with 4:31 remaining.

The Cowboys were able to retake possession of the ball after Braelon Bush took a charge following Kuxhausen’s tying goal. That led to a Scott jumper, which extended the run to 8-0 and gave McNeese a 66-64 lead with 4:09 on the clock, its first since losing it 12 minutes earlier.

“Our bench guys played really well,” said Schroyer. “Harwin (Francois), Braelon and Zach all contributed a lot today.”

HBU scored four straight to go up 68-66 but Kuxhausen answered with another floater and tying it once again with 2:32 to play. Feazell scored his 10th point on the night on a jumper with 1:22 left to put McNeese up 70-68. Both teams followed with missed shots then Lawson forced a turnover with a steal with 16 seconds left. That led to a foul on Scott with 7.7 remaining where he calmly sank both free throws to put the Cowboys up 72-68.

The Huskies got a long three-pointer by Brycen Long with 3.4 seconds on the clock and cutting the Cowboys’ lead to 72-71.

Kuxhausen would get fouled on the inbounds pass with 2.8 to play and knocked down both free throws to make it a 74-71 lead. HBU attempted a desperation heave near the half court line that bounced off the back of the rim.

Kuxhausen scored 15 points and Lawson added 13 with six assists and six rebounds as the two joined Rosario and Feazell in the double-digit scoring department. Feazell added nine rebounds while Rosario grabbed eight.

Zach Iyeyemi led HBU with 17 points while Long and Pedro Castro scored 16 points each.

McNeese connected on 48 percent from the field (29-60) and was 7 of 21 for 33 percent from three-point range. The Cowboys hit 9 of 10 at the free throw line. HBU sank 46 percent from the field (27-59), 36 percent from long range (10-38) and hit 7 of 8 at the line (88 percent).

The Cowboys held a 35-29 rebounding advantage.

“We’ll enjoy this one then turn out attention to a really good Nicholls team.”

McNeese will continue its road stretch on Wednesday when it visits Nicholls for a 7 p.m. tip.