McNeese Hosts UTRGV in Regular Season Home Finale Monday Night

Lake Charles, Louisiana (KNGT-FM) - As the regular season draws near a close, McNeese will play its final home game inside Townsley Law Arena on Monday Night as the Cowboys will host UT Rio Grande Valley.

McNeese is coming off a big 70-54 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on ESPNU on Saturday night. The win improved the Cowboys to 23-5 overall and 16-3 in Southland Conference play.

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The win also locked up at least the No. 2 seed in the Southland Tournament, which will be in Lake Charles in less than two weeks, on March 8-12.

Speaking of the conference tournament… The Bayou Bandits have been nearly unbeatable at home. The Cowboys have won 26 straight home games. That is the third-longest home winning streak in the country behind Duke, Miami (OH), and Akron. McNeese is also 46-1 at home over the last three seasons.

In the matchup on Saturday with the Islanders, the Cowboys used a superb defensive effort to hold a 1-point lead at the break, holding TAMCC to just 23 1st half points. That would quickly change after the Cowboys shot 63 percent in the second half.

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Freshman sensation Larry Johnson was spectacular, pouring in a game-high 23 points while also grabbing 10 boards for his second career double-double.

Johnson now averages 16.8 points per game. He has scored 470 points this season and is just 58 points away from breaking Joe Dumars’ freshman scoring record.

The Cowboys will now turn their attention to a rematch with one of their three conference road losses of the season.

UTRGV comes into the game 16-12 overall and 12-7 in conference play. The Vaqueros have won 10 of their last 11 games. They dominated Southeastern 96-75 on Saturday, pouring in 16 three-pointers in the contest.

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The last time these two teams played, UTRGV won 79-76 in Texas. The Vaqueros built a 23-point lead in the first half. McNeese fought back and had a chance to tie the game late, but the shot missed. In that game, Tyshawn Archie scored 23 points, Garcia had 19, and Johnson added 17. UTRGV made 13 three-pointers, including seven in the first half.

The Vaqueros hit 26 shots from the field, which is the most allowed in Southland play this season for McNeese.

With Monday Night being the final home game of the season, before the game, McNeese will honor three seniors: Javohn Garcia, DJ Richards Jr., and Jerrell Colbert.

Garcia and Richards are the winningest players in school history. They have helped lead the Cowboys to 81 wins over the last three seasons. Colbert has also played a big role in the team’s success this year.

McNeese will host UTRGV on Monday inside Townsley Law Arena with tip-off set for 6:30. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Tom Hoefer and Chaston Tavares.