For a brief moment, the joy inside McNeese State’s locker room dissipated.
“Told them we’d be right back at it at 2 p.m. Sunday,” coach Dave Simmons quipped following the Cowboys’ 79-72 win in overtime against Northwestern State. “Their heads kind of bowed a little bit. But they know we have to get back.”
Relishing the victory — McNeese’s first win in a conference opener since 2013-14 and Simmons’ first win at Prather Coliseum since 2011-12 — cannot linger.
But to diminish its value is disingenuous, especially given the gauntlet Simmons’ bunch now faces.
Defending conference champion Stephen F. Austin invades Burton Coliseum on Monday evening at 7:30 p.m., part of a rigorously front-loaded schedule that features four games in eight days against some of the Southland’s strongest foes.
Two of those four games are against the prohibitive conference favorites. Sam Houston State, picked to win the league by the coaches and sports information directors prior to the season, travels to Lake Charles on Thursday.
“We needed this one,” Cowboys forward Lance Potier said following the win against the Demons, still reeling from the loss of their do-it-all senior guard Zeek Woodley. “Needed to start off 1-0 for confidence and for everything, to let us know that we could beat anyone in a conference that’s up for grabs. We really needed this one.”
Potier keyed the victory, scoring six of McNeese’s 13 overtime points while clogging a low post devoid of any depth. LaBarrius Hill fouled out with six minutes left in regulation and Stephen Ugochukwu, who led the team with 17 points and nine rebounds, was visibly exhausted.
Ugochukwu, who scored 11 of the team’s first 13 points, played 41 of the game’s 45 minutes. Jamaya Burr fouled out in the waning seconds of regulation, leaving Jarren Greenwood to run the point throughout overtime.
Against Northwestern State’s zone, Simmons opted to start James Harvey — who Simmons labels “a more pure shooter” — instead of Greenwood, who came off the bench for the first time this season. Greenwood finished with 13 points and four assists, two of which led to Potier buckets in overtime.
“We settled down and when (Burr and Hill) fouled out, they didn’t panic,” Simmons said. “We were playing young, but the biggest thing was they went to get the basketball. A lot of times guys, especially when it’s tight in the game, they don’t want to be the one to make the mistake. But I thought the young guys did well.”
Hindsight still provides quibbles, though. McNeese was up by as many as 15 in the first half but refused to put the game away when it had an opportunity.
The Cowboys made just three field goals across the final 5:48 of the first half — they had a 15-point lead at that 5:48 juncture — but still managed a 10-point halftime lead.
“Going away from the gameplan, man,” Potier said. “It seems like every time we get comfortable, we were up 15, and we just go away from the gameplan. We stuck it out and we got through.”
Added Simmons: “We don’t have that killer instinct that good teams have, we’re not there yet. But we let them fight back in the ballgame, and I think this league is going to be like that. We’re going to be in a lot of close basketball games because it’s going to come down to who makes the plays late. We made some good plays late.”
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