McNeese’s Lawson nabs Louisiana, Southland Men’s Basketball Player of the Week Awards

LAKE CHARLES – Following a week where he averaged 28.5 points, six rebounds and 3.5 assists while helping McNeese post a 2-0 mark, junior guard A.J. Lawson has been named this week’s Southland Conference and Louisiana Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.

The first-year Cowboy player got the week off to a hot start by helping McNeese hand Abilene Christian its first conference loss of the season by an 88-84 score last Saturday after he sank a career-high 37 points.

In that game, Lawson connected on 11 of 17 of his shots from the field and 13 of 14 from the free throw line to go along with six rebounds and four steals.

Four days later, the Bryan, Texas native and North Texas transfer scored 20 points with six rebounds and seven assists in an 85-76 win over Northwestern State.

For the week, Lawson connected on 50 percent of his shots from the floor (18 of 36), went 4-for-9 from three-point range (38 percent) and 82 percent at the free throw line (17 of 19).

This is Lawson’s first weekly award of the season and the second Cowboy player to be honored. Sha’markus Kennedy was selected by both the SLC and Louisiana for his performance the week of Dec. 9-15.

McNeese (7-9, 2-3 SLC) returns to action on Wednesday at 6:30 when it hosts Incarnate Word (4-11, 1-3)and will be looking to win its third straight game and bringing its conference record to the .500 mark.

COWBOYS TOP LEAGUE IN ATTENDANCE
One of the goals second-year head coach Heath Schroyer set was to lead the Southland Conference in attendance.

Through 16 games, McNeese it at that top spot with an average of 2,662 fans per home game, nearly 300 more per game than No. 2 on the list, Stephen F. Austin.

McNeese set an H&HP Arena attendance record on Dec. 21 against Stephen F. Austin with 3,565 and just this past Saturday, had 3,016 fans in attendance in an 85-76 win over Northwestern State.

In addition, the Cowboys are ranked third in the state of Louisiana in attendance, only trailing LSU (9,200) and Louisiana-Lafayette (3,712).

Southland Conference Attendance Rankings:
1. McNeese – 2,662
2. Stephen F. Austin – 2,365
3. Lamar – 1,948
4. Abilene Christian – 1,370
5. Northwestern State – 1,111
6. A&M-Corpus Christi – 1,064
7. Central Arkansas – 851
8. Sam Houston State – 725
9. New Orleans – 646
10. Southeastern Louisiana – 644
11. HBU – 606
12. Nicholls – 361
13. Incarnate Word – 246

Louisiana NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Attendance Rankings:
1. LSU – 9,200
2. Louisiana-Lafayette – 3,712
3. McNeese – 2,662
4. Louisiana Tech – 2,091
5. Southern – 2,031
6. ULM – 1,748
7. Tulane – 1,577
8. Northwestern State – 1,111
9. New Orleans – 646
10. Southeastern Louisiana – 644
11. Nicholls – 361
12. Grambling – 142