Rebounds, shots and Cowboys fall short in 82-70 road loss to Islanders

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The McNeese Cowboys were outrebounded 45-28 in a devastating 82-70 loss to Texas A&M – Corpus Christi on Wednesday night (Feb.28).

League leading rebounder Quatarrius Wilson was allowed only one rebound and two points in McNeese’s loss to AMCC. Before tonight, Wilson was averaging 11.4 rebounds per game against conference opponents.

In an attempt to make up the lack of coverage on the board, senior forward Stephen Ugochukwu stepped up, pulling down seven rebounds. Behind Ugochukwu was Jacob Ledoux, who had five on the night.

Overall, McNeese has been shooting the ball well, especially when compared to its earlier offensive performances.

The Cowboys (10-16, 7-10) finished shooting an average 44% from the field, but the Islanders were hot tonight, shooting almost 50%.

McNeese trailed by only one at the half, tying the ball game five times in the first half alone. The Cowboys were down by seven with 3:39 on the clock before Ugochukwu, put back two baskets, followed by a layup by other senior LaBarrius Hill to keep McNeese within one of AMCC’s lead.

The Islanders (10-17, 7-10) opened up the second half with 11 unanswered points, taking a 12-point lead with 14 minutes left to play.

The Cowboys would cut it as close as seven only a couple minutes later as a McNeese 3-pointer would find the net, but the Cowboys would see a single-digit deficit only once before the end.

Corpus Christi would lead by as much as 19 in the second half, but a 10-point run by McNeese, sparked by a shot from Jacob Ledoux in three-point territory, would cut the lead to nine with 17 seconds on the clock.

The final three points from the Islanders came from the free-throw line. AMCC had 14 free-throw attempts, to McNeese’s four. The Cowboys committed 14 personal fouls, and gave up 12 points at the charity stripe, 10 in the second half.

McNeese did capitalize off of 14 Islander turnovers, scoring 17 points on those miscues. The Cowboy bench put up 23 points in the loss, as McNeese would score 33 in the paint and nine from the fast break.

The Cowboys host Lamar on Saturday (Mar.3) at 3:30 p.m. at Burton Coliseum, McNeese will be celebrating seniors LaBarrius Hill and Stephen Ugochukwu in their last match in Burton.