McNeese jumps out fast in dominant Southland first round win over Northwestern State

Graduate forward drops 22 points in Cowboys’ first-round victory

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KATY, Texas – Having won two tight contests against Northwestern State in the regular season, much of the same was expected from McNeese. Instead, the fifth-seeded Cowboys opened with a series of runs that turned Wednesday’s opening round Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament game into a blowout.

Spurred by its bench, McNeese stunned sixth-seeded Northwestern State with a 16-0 first half run, using it as the foundation to an 80-67 win over the Demons at Leonard E. Merrell Center and putting them into Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup against third-seed New Orleans at 7:30pm.

“It was just really settling into the flow of the game,” said McNeese head coach John Aiken.

The Cowboys (11-21) got 24 points from its bench in the first half, with Trae English (nine) and Christian Shumate (seven) paving the way for McNeese’s reserves, who outscored Northwestern State’s bench by 18 in the opening 20 minutes.

McNeese held a 16-11 lead with 12:34 in the first half before Kellon Taylor’s basket became the first basket of the decisive run over the ensuing 4:04 that was capped off by English’s 3-pointer that gave the Cowboys a 32-11 margin.

Taylor, who led all scorers with 22 points, said he “was taking what they were giving me. It was just playing into the flow with the offense that we had.

“Honestly, the guys were giving me the ball where I like to score, and when they do that, I just have to take advantage of it,” Taylor added.

The Demons shook off the early offensive malaise and clawed back as a dunk from first team All-Southland Conference center Kendal Coleman brought them within 36-21 with 3:45 left before intermission. However, the Cowboys squashed the brief run when Zach Scott drilled a 3-pointer just before the halftime horn to take an imposing 43-23 lead at the break.

“We tried to make the adjustments within our team and the guys who brought us here, and it just didn’t work out (Wednesday night),” said Northwestern State head coach Mike McConathy.

Not content to take its foot off the gas, McNeese kept the pressure going to start the second half. A Scott trey was then followed by a dunk from Brendan Medley-Bacon, giving the Cowboys a 48-25 edge in the early moments.

Northwestern State found an offensive groove near the midway point of the second half. LaTerrance Reed and Carvell Teasett each hit triples to bring the Demons within 56-42 with 11:53 left before a Cedric Garrett tip-in brought the margin to 56-44.

Tried as they might, Northwestern State could get no closer than 12 points as the Cowboys constantly responded with baskets to disrupt any bid of a mammoth Demons comeback. Despite shooting nearly 60 percent from the field after intermission, the Demons were also hampered by 13 turnovers while also being overwhelmed on the glass by McNeese, which finished with a 41-28 edge in rebounding.

Coleman, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, was more successful in the second half after adjusting to the constant double teams McNeese threw in his direction in the opening 20 minutes that resulting in him shooting just 2-for-9 from the field.

“Coach was telling me before the game (that) the double team might come, so if I see it coming, make sure I just kick it out to the open man or try to make my move quick,” said Coleman, who recorded his 16^th double-double in his last 22 games.

“It wasn’t really anything different,” McConathy said of McNeese. “It was just that they were so aggressive and quick in the matchup. They were as bad a matchup as we’ve had all year because you really couldn’t play (center) Larry (Owens) and Kendal together because of the fact you’ve got Taylor, who was a real matchup problem for Larry.”

McNeese defeated New Orleans 92-82 in the Southland Conference Tip-Off Event on January 6, but the Privateers took the next two regular season games, winning at McNeese 84-78 on January 30 and claiming an 88-75 home win on February 19.