Stephan Martin scored 22 points and McNeese State defeated Texas State 97-92 on Saturday.
Patrick Richard added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and P.J. Alawoya had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Cowboys (11-5, 3-0 Southland Conference). It is the Cowboys' best start since the 1985-86 team started 13-5.
McNeese State made 6 of 8 free throws in final 40 seconds to preserve the win. Martin made 9 of 10 free throws for the game and the Cowboys shot 83.8 percent (31 of 37) from the line.
McNeese State led 82-72 with 4:52 to play, but the Bobcats cut the lead to 84-82. A 3-pointer by the Cowboys' Diego Kapelan, who had 15 points, made it 87-82 with 2 minutes left and the Bobcats never got closer than three the rest of way.
Eddie Rios scored 21 points, and J.B. Conley and Tony Bishop added 17 each for the Bobcats (6-10, 1-1), who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
