McNeese Men’s Basketball Team Makes History With Opening Night Win

A new era of McNeese Basketball began on Monday Night as the Will Wade era officially began at McNeese. The night kick-started the Will Wade era for McNeese basketball although Wade was not in attendance due to serving the first of a 10-game suspension. McNeese beat VCU on opening night and made some pretty remarkable history with the win.

With Wade not in attendance, VCU Graduate Brandon Chambers was the sitting Head Coach for the game versus his Alma Mater.

VCU got out to an early 6-1 lead before McNeese went on a 12-0 run to take a lead that would never relinquish. The Cowboys would lead by as many as 20 points throughout the contest.

Three McNeese Cowboys were in double figures on Monday night, led by Graduate transfer Shahada Wells who finished the night with 23 points. Christian Shumate added 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Transfer DJ Richards netted 17 points shooting 5/6 behind the 3-point arc. Here's what Coach Chambers had to say about the performance of his team...

"They (Wells and Richards) were tremendous," said Chambers. "Coach Wade put this group together and told them they don't have a chip on their shoulders, but boulders instead. Hada is a veteran and can do pretty much anything on the floor. DJ is a 6-0 or 9-0 run waiting to happen. He hit some tough 3s in the first half."

One of the most impressive statistics from the game vs VCU was the Cowboys only totaled 5 turnovers in the matchup with the Rams. One of which, coming on the very first possession of the game.

With the win over Virginia Commonwealth, the Cowboys made some history as it was the program's first win over a Division I team to start the season since the 1995-96 season.

McNeese will be back in action on Friday Afternoon as the Cowboys open their home season with a game vs the College of Biblical Studies at 4 pm inside the Legacy Center.