McNeese withstands gritty A&M Commerce and opens league play with 73-67 win

COMMERCE, Texas – Shahada Wells scored 25 points and Antavion Collum added 20 as McNeese rolled off 15 straight second-half points to rally from a 12-point deficit early in the second to beat Texas A&M-Commerce, 73-67, in the Southland Conference opener for both teams.

The win was the seventh straight for McNeese as it improves to 12-2 overall and continuing its best start in 50 years. Commerce fell to 6-8 and lost for just the second time at home on the season.

The victory also notched career-win No. 200 for head coach Will Wade, who improves to 4-0 since returning from a 10-game suspension to start the season.

“We won but we didn’t play to our standards,” said Wade. “A&M-Commerce played well. They were more physical than us. They bumped our guards off and luckily we were able to play thru Collum in the first half and get Hada going in the second half.

“We weren’t very good today. We’ve got to improve and get ready for Northwestern.”

Collum scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half, including 11 straight points at one time while Wells scored 20 of his 25 in the second half alone, including a streak of nine straight points that helped spur a 15-0 run that saw the Cowboys turn a 12-point deficit into a three-point advantage.

Tied at 53-53 with nine minutes to play, the Lions scored five straight to go up 58-53 with just under eight minutes remaining. McNeese answered with a 7-0 run where it hit 5 of 6 free throws with a Collum layup built in following a nice lane-driving dump off by Wells.

AMC’s Kalen Williams, who finished with 10 points, broke a 60-60 tie with a jumper in the paint after a McNeese turnover but Wells came right back and knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the game to give the Cowboys a 63-62 lead with 3:08 on the clock.

Less than a minute later, Jerome Brewer Jr. added to his career-high output with a couple of free throws to give him 32 points on the day and put Commerce back on top 64-63 at the 2:25 mark.

Christian Shumate, who finished with eight points and five rebounds, got a layup on an offensive rebound then after a Commerce missed three, Collum drilled a wide open 3 with 1:14 to play to make it a 68-64 game.

Javohn Garcia then connected on four straight free throws, the last two with 28 seconds remaining, to put the game away.

Wells added 10 rebounds and to tally his second-straight double-double.

Next Up:

• McNeese will visit Northwestern State at 6:30 on Monday to continue its month-long slate away from home.

• The Cowboys have not played in Legacy Center since Dec. 17 and will return on Jan. 13 against Southeastern Louisiana.

• Monday’s game will be the second of four in the first six conference games away from home to start the league season.

Checking out the Stats:

• McNeese shot a season-low 38.6% (17-44) from the field but shot 50% (8-16) from 3FG range to record the third time this season hitting 50% or better.

• The Cowboys connected on 73.8% (31-42) at the free throw line, the second-highest percentage this season.

• McNeese held a 35-31 advantage in rebounding.

• Commerce attempted 30 three-point shots and 24 two-pointers.

Postgame Notes:

• McNeese is 4-1 in games when the opponent wins the opening tip.

• Wells has now scored 20 or more in two straight games and 4 in the last 6.

• Wells’ 5 three-pointers made is a career-high at McNeese.

• Collum’s 20 points marks his third 20+ point game on the season.

• The 7-game winning streak matches the longest since the 2019-20 season.

• McNeese is 5-2 away from home this season and has won the last three.

• The 8-point halftime deficit is the largest this season.

• The Cowboys are 3-1 when trailing at the half.