Photos courtesy of McNeese Athletics

By Mason Griffin and Wyatt Junkmann

Cowboy Basketball

As the regular season comes to an end and with the conference tournament around the corner, the Cowboys defended their home court in dominant fashion last week, picking up back-to-back Southland Conference wins over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders and the University of Texas-Rio Grand Valley Vaqueros.

McNeese Head Coach Bill Armstrong said the Cowboys’ undefeated home performance made the season special.

“For us to come out and find a way to stay undefeated for the year at home, I mean it just meant everything to us,” Armstrong said. “We just wanted to do that for the fans, for everyone that supports us.”

He also said he wanted the winning home season for seniors DJ Richards Jr., Javohn Garcia and Jerell Colbert.

“To go 17-3 in the Southland Conference and go undefeated at home, that’s a special, special memory,” Armstrong said.

McNeese set the tone early against the Islanders Saturday, using defensive pressure and efficient offense to control the pace from the opening tip. The Cowboys built a steady first-half lead and never allowed the Islanders to find an offensive rhythm.

In the second half, McNeese made key stops and good shots in transition. The Cowboys capitalized off rebounds and second-chance points. By the final timeout, the outcome was all but decided as the Cowboys cruised to a 16-point victory.

“I’ll definitely say it’s a point of emphasis just to be more physical than them…just play aggressive,” said McNeese sophomore guard Jacolb Fredson-Cole. “Doing all those things, and I feel like we got all those into the game, gave us the win.”

Freshman guard Larry Johnson led the team in points and rebounds with 23 points and 10 rebounds, anchoring the Cowboys’ offense and cleaning up the glass on both ends.

Junior guard Tyshawn Archie added 17 points and five rebounds, hitting shots to keep the momentum for McNeese.

The Cowboys secured a 75-68 Senior Night win over the Vaqueros Monday. The Cowboys took the lead late in the first half and never lost it, using strong play through key contributors to keep control.

McNeese’s offense was efficient overall, and they capitalized on free throws and rebounds to build separation.

UTRGV fought back in the second half, but McNeese maintained composure down the stretch to preserve the win.

Softball

The Cowgirls softball team won three of four games in the Cajun AC Louisiana Clash Feb. 20-21 behind the performance of the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week. 

Freshman pitcher Brooklyn Taylor was named the SLC Pitcher of the Week. Taylor picked up her third and fourth starting victories against Houston and her third win as a relief pitcher. 

“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches,” said Taylor. “Going out there, I knew they had my back through anything, and I could trust that they were going to do their job for the team.” 

McNeese faced off at home against the Big 12’s University of Houston, winning Feb. 20’s matchup 7-3 and dropping the Feb. 21 game 1-9. In the same tournament, the Cowgirls faced the Southeastern Conference’s University of Missouri, winning 5-3 Feb. 20 and 4-1 Feb. 21.  

Following the tournament, McNeese faced LSU Tuesday, falling 3-9, before making a comeback against Iowa Thursday with an 11-4 win at Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond. 

The Cowgirls take a 13-6 record to Waco, Texas, where they face Baylor University in a three-game series Saturday and Sunday in Getterman Stadium.