LSU @ McNeese Felt Like More Than an Exhibition

Thursday night in Lake Charles had that special feeling, one more of a homecoming than a rivalry, even though it got tight at the end as the Tigers take a 63-60 win home with them to Baton Rouge.

In recent years, the connection between these two schools has strengthened, and it’s not just the Will Wade connection, though that’s the obvious catalyst.

The President of LSU is the former President of McNeese. And Heath Schroyer, who will always be Coach to those of us who paid attention to basketball in the dark times, has moved on from his stellar career as Athletic Director at McNeese to Senior Deputy Director of Athletics for LSU.

But for one night, at least before tip-off, the atmosphere felt more like a family reunion.

Bill v. Will…the Battle of Friends and State of Louisiana bragging rights.

Then the game tipped off, and all pretenses were cast aside. Exhibition or not, there was an electricity in Townsley Law Arena. The Tigers were here to play. The Cowboys didn’t have to go to LSU. LSU came to Lake Charles, and we were all better for it.

In a lot of ways, this was the best way for Will Wade to give the college basketball world a glimpse as to team he’s been putting together. It’s no secret that LSU and recruiting, both in football and basketball, have been on everyone’s radar. Even before this, Wade was known as a guy who was always looking for a loophole to get the best product on the court possible.

Thursday night, he brought seven players with him.

Divine Ugochukwu led LSU with 18 points, going 6 for 10 with two three-pointers. Mo Dioubate had 16 points, and Donovan Dent had 12 points. Michael Ruzic, a player that wasn’t cleared to play until right before the game, had 11 points and 16 rebounds. 

Ugochukwu throws down an early dunk on the Cowboys as part of his 18 points.

What’s even scarier is that this isn’t the roster that Wade will start the regular season with, as he pointed out in the post-game presser.

Once all the players are eligible, “We’re going to be a damn good team,” Wade was quick to point out.

Ruzic didn’t even know he was going to play when he woke up this morning.

For the Cowboys, there’s just as much mystery to this line-up even though the roster is set.

As is the case in 21st Century college athletics, Coach Bill Armstrong has had to re-load nearly his entire roster from last year’s team as he tries to take McNeese to it’s 4th straight Southland Conference Championship and 4th straight March Madness appearance.

And while this team came up a little short, that’s unlikely to be the norm, as Coach Wade even predicted that the Tigers would be the last team to win on McNeese’s home court this season. Armstrong echoed that sentiment, promising to “work my tail off…so this doesn’t happen again.”

To get back to that realm of dominance, the Cowboys have brought back Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, Larry Johnson, who had 22 points and was the only Cowboy in double figures.

Can Larry Johnson continue to rise above it all this season?

Some other notable first looks at players were Dellquan Warren at point, dishing out 8 assists to only one turnover in his debut as a Cowboy.

Christian Nitu, another newcomer, was the second leading scorer for the Cowboys with 9 points. Standing at 6’11” tall, Nitu is going to be a match-up nightmare all season for Southland Conference teams, and his ability to shoot the 3-ball should stretch the court and allow other players like Choppa Moore and Jerrell Colbert to contribute.

Nitu can catch that alley-oop dunk too!

Neither team led by more than six throughout the night, and the Cowboys seemed to be in control until midway through the second quarter when a scary incident occured.

Johnson drove in for a layup and went down hard, and for a second, all the air felt like it left the arena and the McNeese sideline as Armstrong rushed out to check on his star player.

As he limped off, there was a little relief but still a lot of worry as murmurs were passed among fans as injury information is always hard to come by.

For a second, felt like the season was over before it started.

Luckily, Johnson was not only able to walk off the court, but he came back later in the game, much to the chagrin of a lot of fans who were questioning if that was the smart move. Ultimately, there was no further injury, but moments like that show just how precarious college basketball can be, especially for a mid-major.

Next Up:

McNeese has two more exhibitions games coming up, one on the road in a closed scrimmage, and then another at home against Southern on October 25th. The Cowboys begin regular season play on November 2nd against UAB in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon in South Carolina.

LSU also has two exhibitions left, with the first being next Wednesday the 14th against UCF at home. That game will also be broadcast on the SEC Network. Then they travel for a final exhibition on Saturday the 24th against Florida State (also available on the ACC Network) before starting the season on November 3rd against LSU New Orleans at the Maravich Center.