McNeese beats Texas A&M-Commerce 79-78 in Southland tourney

Updated Mar. 5, 2023 10:32 p.m. ET

Associated Press

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Christian Shumate led McNeese with 28 points and Donovan Oday sealed the victory with a free throw with two seconds remaining as the Cowboys knocked off Texas A&M-Commerce 79-78 on Sunday night in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament.

Shumate had 12 rebounds for the Cowboys (10-22). Zach Scott scored 19 points while going 8 of 18 from the floor, including 3 for 6 from distance, and 0 for 3 from the free-throw line. Johnathan Massie recorded 13 points and shot 5 of 9 from the field and 3 for 4 from the foul line.

The Lions (13-20) were led by C.J. Roberts, who posted 19 points. Jerome Brewer Jr. added 17 points and two blocks for Texas A&M-Commerce. Demarcus Demonia also put up 13 points and three steals.

Roberts hit a 3-pointer to make it 78-all with 26 seconds to play but Oday hit 1 of 2 from the free-throw line about 24 seconds later to win it.

Shumate scored a team-high 13 points for McNeese in the second half.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.