Hoping the road can fix their woes, the Cowboys open a crucial stretch of games tonight in San Antonio.

With three of their next four games away from home, including the next two, McNeese State needs to right the ship fast.

The Cowboys play at Incarnate Word tonight in hopes of ending a five-game losing skid that has plummeted them to the bottom of the Southland Conference standings.

McNeese (5-15, 2-5 SLC) tips off at 7:30 p.m. today in a three-way tie for eighth with both UIW and Lamar.

McNeese will be at first-place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday before playing Lamar at home next Thursday.

“Sometimes getting on the road brings more focus,” said McNeese head coach John Aiken. “We need to reset ourselves, get our confidence back, get our swagger back.”

Having lost three straight at home, the road may be the answer, but McNeese is 2-9 away from Lake Charles. The Cardinals (8-12, 2-5) enter the game from the other direction having won their last two after starting SLC play 0-5.

“This is a huge stretch for us to try and get back in the race,” Aiken said.

Eight of the 10 teams make the postseason conference tournament, which will be played in Lake Charles for at least the next four years. That puts added pressure on the Cowboys to make the event.

“We know how important it is to be in the tournament for this program,” Aiken said. “There is a lot of basketball left to play. We have to approach the next 11 games like they are playoff games.”

In order to start that stretch with a win the Cowboys will need to keep Incarnate Word from getting to the free throw line. The Cardinals have made 84 more free throws than McNeese.

“They like to drive the ball and get to the line,” Aiken said.

Jonathan Cisse leads the conference in free-throw shooting, hitting 90.3 percent. He also leads the Cardinals in scoring at 14.9 a game but has improved to 20 in league play.

Trae English leads a balanced McNeese attack averaging 11.9 points a game. He is followed by Christian Shumate (11.8) and Zach Scott (11.6). Scott leads the team with 40 3-point shots and has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games.

The Cowboys will have to bring their own energy. UIW averages 281 fans a game, dead last in the Southland.