McNeese Punches Ticket to March Madness After Dominating SFA in Title Game

Lake Charles, Louisiana (KNGT-FM) - For the third consecutive season, the McNeese Cowboys are dancing into March Madness.

Wednesday, McNeese punched their ticket back to the NCAA Tournament with a dominating 76-59 win over Stephen F Austin in the Southland Conference Tournament Championship game.

Javohn Garcia was the star of the game for McNeese. Garcia, who missed the final two weeks of the regular season, came out firing out the gate, starting 5-5 from behind the arc, and finished with a career-high 31 points on 11-18 shooting.

“You’ve got this guy sitting to my right. He couldn’t walk two weeks ago, and the last two nights he played over 50 minutes," said Armstrong.

Larry Johnson and Tyshawn Archie both finished in double figures for the Cowboys.

“To play 55 minutes and then still come back and play the way we did, I just think it shows we’re meant to be. It shows the belief we have in each other and the will to win.”

A McNeese program that had only ever been to the NCAA Tournament twice since it began playing basketball in 1972 has now punched its ticket to the Big Dance for the third consecutive season.

Bill Armstrong silenced whatever critics he might have still had in Lake Charles after he followed up his best friend Will Wade's back-to-back titles with a title of his own in year one. You can't write a story much better than that.

"It feels unbelievable. To replace my guy. We're like brothers, and for the story to come full circle is unbelievable. We're excited to keep it going," said Armstrong.

McNeese will find out its March Madness location, date, and opponent on Sunday when the 68-team brackets for the women are revealed at 5:00, and will air on CBS.