McNeese mauls Champion Christian in season opener, 110-54

LAKE CHARLES – Christian Shumate scored 20 points with 12 rebounds to lead six McNeese players who scored in double-figures as the Cowboys whipped Champion Christian 110-54 on Monday night to start the 2022-23 season.

The season-opening win was the first for a Cowboy team since the 2012-13 season when McNeese opened the year with a 72-54 win over Louisiana College.

“It was good to open the season at home and to get a win,” said second-year head coach John Aiken. “Tonight, we were able to shake the nerves and get our legs under us after the first half and really played well in the second half.”

McNeese has played the last nine openers on the road as part of a guarantee game for a paycheck against Power 5 or upper mid-major opponents.

The Cowboys led 48-23 at the half but it was a first 20 minutes that saw McNeese turn the ball over eight times, hit 50 percent from the field and just 21 percent from three-point range. But in the second half, the Cowboys cranked it up.

“I thought we did a really good job in the second half in taking care of the ball and making shots,” said Aiken.

In the final 20 minutes, McNeese dished out 20 assists while turning it over only three times. Shooting was on with 63 percent aim from the floor and nearly 50 percent from behind the arc.

Champion Christian scored eight straight points early in the second half to cut a 51-23 deficit to 51-31, but from that point, the Cowboys scored 11 straight points that sparked a 31-4 run over a 7-minute span.

Zach Scott, who finished with 15 points, sank the third of his three treys midway through the second half to put McNeese up 82-37. Just over a minute later, Shumate hit his lone three of the game to make it an 89-39 score

Roberts Berze put the Cowboys in triple digits with a 3 with 4:18 to play to make it 101-46, then just 30 seconds later, sank another trey to give McNeese a 104-48 lead. Berze finished with 11 points in making his McNeese debut.

Johnathan Massie, last year’s Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, capped the scoring with a three with 30 seconds to play, giving him 13 points on the night.

Newcomer Malachi Rhodes added 12 points and seven rebounds while true freshman Donovan Oday added 10 points and five assists.

McNeese ended the game shooting 56.6 percent from the field (47-83), 35.5 percent from three-point range (11-31) and 5 of 13 at the free throw line. The Cowboys held a 51-30 rebound advantage and pulled in 21 offensive boards resulting in 34 second-chance points.

The Cowboys will be back in action on Friday when they visit Tulane at 6 p.m. in a game that will broadcast on ESPN+.

Notebook:
• McNeese subbed 5-in and 5-out for most of the game and 11 players saw action while all 11 scored.
• Players to see the floor for the first time as a Cowboys included Malachi Rhodes (12 pts, 7 reb), Roberts Berze (11 pts, 3 reb), Donovan Oday (10 pts, 2 reb, 5 asst), Dionjahe Thomas (9 pts, 8 reb, 2 asst, 1 blk), Zach Blackwell (6 pts, 4 reb), Rhyjon Blackwell (3 pts, 3 asst).
• No player saw more than 22 minutes of action.
• Christian Shumate recorded his 6th career double-double and 7th career 20-point game.
• In the second wave of players to sub in, Trae English, Donovan Oday and Johnathan Massie combined to score 31 points, dish out 15 assists, and turned the ball over zero times.
• Massie’s 13 points was a career-high.
• English’s 7 assists marked a career-high.